A Strange Friend
by VioletRose13
Summary: [The Grinch 2018] This is the story of how a young Martha May Whovier made a strange new friend while on vacation in Whoville for the holidays.
1. First Day in Whoville

Whoville was always famous for its Christmas festivities and celebrations and that is the very reason a bright, happy little Who girl named Martha May Whovier is coming to Whoville for Christmas this year. Martha May was about eight years old; she lived with her father and mother in the bustling metropolis known as Who York City. Christmas was always Martha's favorite holiday and that very year, she and her parents were visiting Whoville for the entire month of December. She was over the moon.

When they arrived, Martha couldn't believe her eyes. This town was small, but it was beautiful. There were garlands, bells, and wreaths all around, lights were strung up, there was a huge frozen lake for skating, carolers were out and about, and shops were selling all kinds of sweets and goodies in the spirit of the season. And the best part was that the people there were so nice and welcoming, unlike most of the people in Who York. Martha could still hardly believe that she was surrounded by so much holiday cheer and she couldn't ask for more.

She and her family had a little vacation home in town, in which they lived for their time in Whoville. After they finished putting their things away, Martha put on her winter clothes and headed towards the door.

"And where are you going, missy?" Her mother, Felicity, asked.

"Out. I just want to see the rest of the town." Martha replied.

"Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?"

"Don't worry, mommy. I'll be fine, I promise."

"Well, okay. Do you have some allowance with you?"

"Yep." Martha smiled and shook her coat pocket, which made a jingling sound.

"Okay, have fun, sweetie." Felicity smiled and gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead.

"I will. Bye, see you later."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

And with that, Martha waved her mother goodbye and excitedly ran out the door. As she wandered the streets of Whoville, she smiled and hummed a little song to herself. Then in the corner of her eye, she saw a group of Who kids having a game of 'Simon Says', which was one of her favorite games. Eager to make friends, she ran over to them to see if she could join their game.

"Hi." She said, approaching the kids.

They all stopped what they were doing and turned their heads to see Martha standing there with a grin on her face. They looked at her curiously, unsure of who she was or what she was doing here. One little girl with blonde hair and a purple coat walked over to Martha and gave her a friendly smile.

"Hello. My name's Donna." The girl said, offering her hand. "What's yours?"

"Martha May." Martha said, shaking Donna's hand politely.

"It's nice to meet you. These are my friends: Amy, Lazlo, Kylie, Gene, and Claire."

The other kids politely greeted Martha.

"It's nice to meet you all." Martha said. "Are you guys playing 'Simon Says'?"

"Yeah. Would you like to join us?" Kylie, a little girl with black hair and a blue coat, asked.

"Sure." Martha replied.

"You can be the leader, since my turn is already over." Lazlo, a boy in a yellow beanie hat, said.

"Really? Thanks." Martha stood in front of her new six friends. "Okay, Simon Says… touch your toes."

They did as she said.

"Simon Says jump three times while you turn."

Again, they did what they were told.

"Simon Says shake your heads."

They did.

"Simon Says…"

"Shut up." A new voiced whined.

The group of seven turned around to see five other Who children approach them. There were three girls and two boys and they didn't look friendly. Martha was very confused, but Donna rolled her eyes, along with her friends.

"Oh great." Gene, a boy with a brown coat and polka dot scarf, groaned.

"Well, look what we have here! The six little Misfits of Whoville! And from the looks of it, they have a new friend." A girl with strawberry blonde hair and hot pink earmuffs laughed.

"What are _you_ doing out here?" A boy with dark brown hair asked.

"We're just playing 'Simon Says' with our new friend, Martha May." Donna replied.

"Martha May, huh?" The girl said, inspecting Martha curiously. "You're not from here, are you Martha?"

"No, I'm from Who York." Martha replied nervously.

"Who York, huh? Well, I guess you have _that_ going for you."

"Leave her be, Tina." Lazlo stepped forward.

"Why should I? She's basically fresh meat, aren't you?"

"What do you mean by 'Fresh meat'?" Martha asked, even more confused than before.

"Fresh meat for the _Monster_ , duh. Right, guys?" Tina asked the rest of her little pack.

"Yeah." The other four kids said.

Donna and her friends froze at the mention of the word 'Monster'.

"What monster?" Martha asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Tina asked, pretending to be shocked; Martha shook her head and remained silent. "Oh, you have _so_ much to learn, new girl. Travis, Trevor, fill her in."

The two boys stepped forward, cleared their throats, and began the tale.

"You see that mountain north of town?" Travis asked, pointing a finger at the huge mountain in the distance; Martha nodded, but said nothing. "That is Mt. Crumpit and it's the home… of it."

"What's _it_?" The little redhead asked.

"A frightening creature, a mystic being, a _monster_." Trevor went on. "People say it lives in a big cave at the tip top of Mt. Crumpit, all alone. No one ever sees it, of course, and it only comes down at night, whenever it's really hungry. Every night the creature comes down from its cave and it prowls the streets of Whoville, looking for Who children to _eat_."

Martha gasped in fright.

"That's right." Travis said. "And when it finds a victim, it never lets them go. This creature sneaks into the child's room in the dead of night, stuffs them into a burlap sack, takes them up to its cave, and eats them alive. So NOBODY goes up to the mountain or even goes near it, in fear of catching a glimpse of the Monster of Mt. Crumpit. Or worse, _it_ catching a glimpse of _them_."

Martha shivered; she certainly wasn't expecting to hear a story like that, especially in a town as festive and happy as this.

"So… is this monster _real_?" She asked hesitantly.

"As real as everyone else in this town." Tina said; the other two girls nodded.

"Everyone knows to avoid Mt. Crumpit at ALL costs." One girl, Terri, said.

"Unless you want to end up in the Monster's clutches." The second girl, Tessie, added.

"Oh please." Donna scoffed, trying to sound confident. "Everyone knows this thing is just a silly myth. You're just making this up to scare us."

"No way." Tina said. "The Monster is real. Mr. Bricklebaum said so."

"Bricklebaum? You mean the only guy brave enough to live right at the edge of the mountain?" Claire, a girl with brown pigtails and a neon yellow coat, asked.

"Yep, that's him." Tina said. "My daddy said he heard the legend from Bricklebaum and said it was all true, every word."

"You don't actually _believe_ that, do you?" Amy, a girl with braided brown hair, asked.

"How could we _not_?" Trevor asked. "These stories are as real as anything else around here."

"Well… I don't believe in monsters." Martha commented.

Tina turned her head and smiled wickedly at her. "Is that so? What if I told you that no kid who goes up to Mt. Crumpit at midnight is ever seen again?"

"That is so silly. It's so silly, it um… it doesn't even deserve a 600-page report on how silly it is in FRENCH." Martha retorted; Donna and her friends giggled under their breath.

"Oh really? Then I guess you wouldn't be afraid to go up to Mt. Crumpit at midnight, if I were to triple dog dare you."

"No, Martha! Don't do it! It's too dangerous!" Donna cried.

Martha paused and contemplated her situation, trying to decide on what to do next. She knew that this monster couldn't be real, but she really wanted to get these bullies off her back. She looked and Tina and furrowed her brow.

"Okay, fine." She said. "I'll go tonight and I'll be here tomorrow, completely unharmed."

"How will we know you were really there?" Trevor asked; Terri and Tessie nodded.

"Because I'll take a camera with me and take pictures of everything." Martha said, trying to sound brave.

"You're on!" Tina exclaimed, shaking Martha's hand in agreement. "Come on guys, let's go someplace else."

Tina and her little friends all walked away with their heads held high, leaving Martha and her new friends alone. Donna and the others stared at her in shock.

"Martha, are you CRAZY?!" Amy cried. "You can't go to Mt. Crumpit tonight!"

"It's too dangerous." Kylie added.

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you guys believe the story too." Martha scoffed.

"Everyone knows the story of the Monster of Mt. Crumpit, but it's our choice on whether we believe it or not." Donna said. "And it's totally fine if you don't believe in it, but please Martha; you can't do this. Mt. Crumpit is still a dangerous place; we just don't want you to get hurt."

"But Tina _dared_ me, Donna; I can't chicken out now." Martha argued. "I _have_ to do this. I'm going to prove to her that there is no monster, and there's nothing you guys can say to stop me."

"Oh yeah?" Lazlo asked as he watched the redhead walk away. "What if _I_ said 'blargen-fezibble-nukhip'?"

Martha stopped in her tracks and looked back at Lazlo in confusion.

"What does that even mean?" She asked.

"…I have no idea." Lazlo replied.

Martha rolled her eyes and shook her head before continuing to walk away. Donna and her friends called out to her, begging and pleading to reconsider and back out. But Martha was determined; she was going to prove that this "Monster of Mt. Crumpit" wasn't real and nothing was going to stop her. But as she thought about what just happened, she paused.

"What have I gotten myself into?" She asked herself in shock.


	2. On Mount Crumpit

That evening, Martha remained quiet at dinner. Her parents quickly took notice.

"Martha? Anything exciting happen today?" Her father, Mortimer, asked.

"I made some new friends." Martha replied bluntly.

"Oh, that's good." Felicity said. "Anything else?"

Martha paused, remembering the bullies and the dare they had given her. Martha was always honest with her parents, but she couldn't tell them what she had been dared to do. Who knows what'll happen?

"Nah, nothing much. We just played a few games and got to know one another more." Martha lied.

"How nice." Mortimer said.

After dinner, Martha and her parents got ready for bed. Just as Martha climbed into bed, Felicity came in.

"You know Martha, if there's anything that's bothering you, you can always come to us." She said.

"Yeah, I know. But I'm fine, really." The little girl said.

"Well… okay, if you're sure."

"I'm sure."

"Okay. Goodnight, sweetie."

"Goodnight, mommy."

Felicity gave Martha a quick kiss on the cheek, tucked her into bed, and turned off the lights just before she went out the door. The moment her mother was gone, Martha hopped out of bed and checked the clock on the wall; it was just about 10:00. She grabbed her backpack and camera and quietly snuck out the door to get her winter clothes and anything else she'll need. She grabbed a flashlight and some chocolate bars and stuffed them into her bag before grabbing her coat, hat, scarf, and boots. Martha then went out to the garage and grabbed the sled she brought with her along with a hockey stick, just in case she needed them. And then, she was on her way.

Martha rode her sled through the streets of Whoville, hoping nobody would wake up and see her. Then she made it to Mr. Bricklebaum's house and noticed that the lights were off; she sighed in relief, realizing he was asleep. As quietly and carefully as possible she snuck past the house, but it was rather difficult to stay quiet with all of the snow crunching under her feet.

'Wow. This is probably the loudest snow I've ever heard in my life.' She thought just as she safely made it across.

Martha then looked up and saw the mountain in front of her; it was much bigger than she thought it would be. She took her flashlight out of her backpack, turned it on, took a deep breath, and with her sled in tow, she went forward. She walked through the snow with her flashlight in hand, looking for signs of anything out of the ordinary.

"Um… Hello! Mister Monster! Yoo-hoo! A nice, plump, tasty little girl right here!" She nervously called out before checking her wrist watch; it read 11:50. "It's ten minutes to midnight! Where are you? Oh! And if you're still hungry, I've brought a few sweets with me. I hope you like chocolate."

The winter wind howled and Martha froze; it almost sounded like a raspy voice. She gulped and continued to walk.

'I'm just surprised there aren't any gates or fences up here to keep anyone out. People could get lost out here… _I_ could get lost.' She thought, realizing the seriousness of her predicament.

She went further and further up, nervously humming a Christmas song to herself. By now, she had taken out her camera and was snapping a few pictures here and there. Then she checked her watch again.

"Hmmm. 3, 2, 1… midnight!" She cried out triumphantly. "Ha, I knew it! I was right! There is no monster! Take that, Tina, and all your ilk! Whatever that means."

Suddenly, Martha jumped and froze at the sound of a stick snap. She turned and shined her flashlight around, trying to find the source of the sound. There was nothing there. Another stick snapped, only it sounded much louder than earlier. She turned in the direction of the snap and saw a red and green plaid scarf hanging from a lower branch of a pine tree. Confused and slightly frightened, Martha reluctantly went over to the tree and took the scarf off of the branch. She inspected it curiously, wondering where it had come from. Coming to the conclusion that someone from Whoville must've lost it up here, she shrugged, put it over her shoulder, and decided to find the owner in the morning. But just as she was about to walk away, she heard a tiny sneeze followed by an unfamiliar voice muttering 'Gesundheit'.

She gasped in fear and took out her flashlight and camera. She looked around before reluctantly looking up and her eyes widened in terror. There, sitting in the branches of the pine tree, was a large creature with green fur that was giving her a deer in the headlights look like she had never seen before. She screamed at the creature; it screamed back at her as the camera flashed, temporarily blinding it. The creature was so surprised that it suddenly slipped and fell down the tree until it landed right at Martha's feet.

She took a few steps back, unsure of what she was actually viewing before her eyes. This Monster of Mt. Crumpit was real; it was really real. The creature groaned in frustration and stood up, shaking the snow from its fur and red and white striped scarf around its neck; a little dog with brown fur suddenly came out from behind the tree and hid behind the creature's legs. The dog barked in Martha's direction and the creature turned its attention to the terrified little girl. It scowled at her.

"A-a-a-a-are y-y-you the-the-the-the-the… the Monster of Mt. Crumpit?" Martha stuttered in a trembling voice.

"…You've heard of me?" The creature asked; judging by the voice, Martha could tell right away that this creature was male. She nodded, taking another step back. "You're not from here, are you?"

She shook her head.

"I can tell. I recognize pretty much _every_ face in this sickeningly sweet town and I've certainly never seen _you_ before. So who are you? Why are you here? And what do you want?"

"I don't want anything, I promise. I-I-I-I was just, um…"

"You were _what_? What are you doing on my land? Answer me."

He took a step closer to Martha; she took another step back.

"I was… looking for…" She trailed off before looking at the green and red scarf; she had a horrifying thought. "…What did you do?"

"Give it to me, it's mine." The creature demanded, holding out his furry hand.

"No! Stay away from me. I know what you want."

"Ugh, just give me the scarf."

"NO! I'm not falling for your tricks. You can't scare me."

"Oh really?" He paused and smiled a wicked smile at her. "…BOO!"

Martha screamed, causing her to stumble back and fall onto her sled. Somehow, the plaid scarf had tangled itself around her arm and it managed to get caught on the sled… and Martha's abrupt movements caused the sled to move and slide down the snowy mountain; the girl screamed as she rode down and down. The stranger paused and watched the out of control sled go over bumps as it went down.

"Well… that worked out nicely." He said smugly. "Come on, Max. Let's go. Looks like our work here is finished."

Before the creature could walk away, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right leg. He looked and saw the dog, Max, biting his right ankle… and the little guy was holding on tight.

"What are you doing, you stupid dog?! I'm not a chew toy!" The creature yelled as he tried to make the little canine let go. "Stop it, Max! Get my foot out of your mouth! You have no idea where it's been!"

"HELP ME! Somebody, anybody!" Martha shrieked in the distance.

The creature looked down at Max who was looking at him with big pleading eyes; he paused again before letting out an annoyed groan.

"I cannot believe you talked me into this." He said as Max let go; he went over to another pine tree and with his own bare hands, he ripped a huge piece of bark off of the trunk like it was nothing. He then proceeded to use it as a sled to ride down after little Martha; Max quickly jumped on behind his owner.

This was the ride of Martha's life and she didn't like it one bit. The first push felt like the initial drop of a roller coaster; her stomach flew into her throat, she felt weightless and out of control as well as trapped. She screamed louder than she had ever screamed before and she tried to stop and get herself free from her restraints, but it was all in vain. The scarf was wrapped tight around her arm and the sled and it was picking up even more and more speed.

She started to cry.

"Why did I even come up here? Why did I have to be so cocky? Why did I have to take that stupid dare?!" She wailed, squeezing her eyes shut.

"I was just going to ask _you_ that!" A voice yelled.

Martha's eyes flew open and she saw the stranger and his dog riding the tree bark right beside her. She gasped at the sight of him.

"Gimme your hand!" He called.

"No!" Martha objected in fear.

"Ugh! Kid, this is no time to be difficult! Just give me your hand!"

"I can't, I'm stuck!"

"Then untie the scarf!"

"I can't reach it!"

The creature then leaned to his right and reached out his hand to try and grab the scarf, but Martha pulled away from him.

"Don't touch me! I'm not letting you take me up to your cave so you can eat me!"

"I don't want to eat you! I'm trying to save your life!"

"Liar!"

"I don't have time for this! Just—"

Before the stranger could finish his sentence, Martha's sled suddenly hit a huge bump in its path and it sent her flying into the air. Martha screamed even more as she went higher and higher, but she managed to untangle the scarf from her sled and she was finally free. Thinking fast, the creature turned the piece of bark around and held his arms out wide open, hoping to catch her. He was so caught up in trying to help the little redhead that he didn't even notice his dog had jumped off and safely landed in the snow. Martha flew through the air and closed her eyes, waiting for the worst. But instead of crashing into a pile of snow or a tree, she landed right in the creature's arms. She opened her eyes and looked up at her savior in shock, unsure of what to say. Then she took a quick glance behind him and gasped.

"Watch out!" She cried.

"Huh?" The stranger asked.

"No, behind you!" Martha yelled, pointing a finger behind him.

He turned his head and his green eyes widened the moment he saw a huge slope just near the frozen lake… and they were heading right towards it. They both screamed in terror as they flew into the air, over the lake, dove right through an open window, and crashed into a huge pile of boxes, tissue paper, and bubble wrap. They landed in the Whoville Post Office. Max went around the lake and ran into the post office, to see if there was any trace of his owner. After sniffing around, Max jumped back when he saw his owner and the little girl emerge from the wreckage they caused. Martha heaved a heavy sigh.

"Whoa…" She muttered.

The creature groaned and stood up before cracking his sore back. He looked at Martha and furrowed his brow at her.

"Give me that back!" He yelled, snatching the plaid scarf from her hands. "Don't you know you're not supposed to take things that don't belong to you? What the matter with you? Are you some kind of wild animal? Hmmm?"

"No." Martha replied as she tried to stand up, but she stopped when she felt a small pain in her leg. "Ow!"

"Ugh, what now?"

"My knee hurts."

"Oh please."

"No, really; I mean it. It really hurts. Ow."

The creature rolled his eyes and picked her up before heading over to a nearby table and saying, "Okay, let's have a look."

He turned on a lamp and took a look at Martha's left leg. There was a hole in her pajama pants and underneath was a fresh scrape on her knee; luckily, it was just a little cut, nothing too serious. Rolling his eyes, he picked up some snow from outside and rubbed it onto her injured knee.

"What are you doing?" Martha asked.

"Just cleaning up your wound." He said before tearing off a small part of the plaid scarf and tying it around her leg. "There, good as new. The pressure applied should slow down the bleeding."

"Wow." Martha looked at him in surprise as he picked her up and set her back down onto the floor.

"I know what you're going to say, and don't mention it. Let's get outta here, Max." He turned around and headed towards the door with Max following close behind.

"Thanks for saving me, by the way." Martha said, which made the stranger abruptly stop in his tracks and slowly turn around to face her.

He snarled at her. "Saving you? Is _that_ what you think I was doing?"

She nodded.

"Ah-ah-ah…" He wagged a finger at her before grabbing hold of some wrapping paper from a dispenser from the wall; he approached her with a wicked smile, still clutching the paper. "I merely noticed that _you_ weren't properly packaged, my dear."

She gasped. The stranger ripped the paper from the wall and violently wrapped it around Martha's tiny body. She shrieked and cried out, trying to get free.

"Agh! Hey, stop it!" She yelled.

"Hold still! Max, get me some more tape! And pick out a bow while you're at it!" The stranger demanded; the dog barked and did as he was told.

"Quit it, please!"

"Stop wiggling so much!"

"I can't help it! Your fur tickles!"

At the Whovier's vacation home, the doorbell rang. Felicity and Mortimer begrudgingly woke up and went downstairs to see who it was. When they opened the door they were surprised to see a moving bundle wrapping in shiny red and pink paper and silver and white ribbons wriggling and moving about on their doorstep.

"Mommy? Daddy?" Martha's voice called.

"Martha May?!" They cried as they picked up their daughter.

They ripped the paper and untied the ribbons and Martha was finally free. She breathed and looked up at her parents.

"Mom, dad! You'll never guess what—" She started.

"Martha May, what in the world happened to you?" Felicity scolded.

"How did this happen?" Mortimer demanded, picking up his daughter and taking her inside.

The moment they were inside, Martha told them about the bullies and the dare… and even the creature she encountered. The dare and bullies they believed, but Felicity and Mortimer didn't believe a word about the creature. They thought it was just the bullies trying to intimidate her, so they told her to not listen to them anymore.

Martha tried to convince her parents that the Monster was real, but they were having none of it. They immediately sent her to bed without another word. Martha sat alone in her bed, thinking about everything that just happened to her that night… and all on her first day in Whoville. She then took a little red book out of a suitcase, opened it, grabbed a pen, and began to write.

" _Dear Diary,_

 _You'll never believe what just happened to me. I arrived in Whoville and I made a few friends, which is great, but a group of bullies came up and dared me to go up to Mt. Crumpit tonight and take a picture of a rumored Monster. I thought it was just a story meant to scare me, but then… I realized the story was all too real. I met the Monster and he was horrifying. Then I got stuck on my sled and went down the mountain at top speed. I couldn't stop, but then out of nowhere, the Monster just swooped in and tried to save me. Then we crashed into the Post Office, he cleaned up a scratch on my knee, and he was about to leave before I thanked him for saving me. But he stopped and looked at me; I'll never forget that face he pulled. It looked sinister, almost crazy; it really frightened me. And the next thing I knew, I was on the doorstep of my vacation home all wrapped up in ribbons and paper like a Christmas present. I told my parents, but they didn't believe me about the Monster and they told me that I would never discuss it again._

 _But there's still one thing I don't get. If this Monster really is so bad… then why did he save me? Maybe he isn't so bad…_ "

She looked at the pictures she managed to rescue before looking out the window at the night sky, not sure of what to do next. That stranger is still out there, and she knew she really didn't want to get on his bad side again if she ever crossed paths with him a second time.


	3. Asking Questions and Finding Answers

The next day, Martha hadn't seen any sign of the green, furry stranger she encountered the night before. But ever since then, she couldn't stop thinking about that night. She just didn't know what to do about it; she knew her parents didn't believe her, but she did have photographs proving she was there. And how could they explain how she got back home wrapped in ribbons and wrapping paper, like a present?

She told Donna what happened and showed her the pictures she took, and Donna believed every word. She told Martha how brave she was and how lucky she was to be able to get away from the Monster. But then Martha showed Donna the healing scrape on her knee.

"Whoa! You really got that last night?" Donna asked.

"Yeah. I must've scratched myself on a branch on the way down the mountain or something." Martha answered.

"And you said the Monster fixed it?"

"Well, he didn't exactly fix it. He just washed it with some snow and patched it up with a scarf."

"The Monster is a 'he'?"

Martha nodded. "But the thing is… he _saved_ me."

"Who did?" A familiar annoying voice asked.

Donna and Martha turned their heads to see Tina sneering at them; they rolled their eyes as she approached them.

"What are you two talking about today?" Tina asked.

"None of your business, Tina." Donna replied, folding her arms.

"Where are your little friends?" Martha asked.

"They're busy. Oooh, what's this?" Tina snatched one of Martha's photos out of her hand and looked at it. Her eyes suddenly widened when she saw what was in it. "Is this the Monster of Mt. Crumpit?!"

"Give me that back! Don't you know you're not supposed to take things that don't belong to you?" Martha cried, taking the photo back; she quickly realized that was exactly what the stranger from last night said to her and her eyes widened slightly.

"You saw the Monster, didn't you?" Tina asked.

"Well… so what if I did?" Martha sputtered nervously.

"Ha! I told you there was a Monster!" Tina exclaimed before noticing Martha's knee. "And so much for 'completely unharmed', huh? Did the Monster try to bite off your leg?"

"No, he didn't. Actually, he tended to my injury."

"Explain?"

And so she did. In great detail, Martha told Tina everything that happened to her last night; she told her about the ride down the mountain, how she met the creature, how he saved her… and how he wrapped her up like a present and left her on the doorstep of her own house.

"Whoa… That is insane." Tina said, sounding surprised.

"And the thing is, I don't think this Monster really is a monster." Martha said. "Maybe he isn't as bad as people say. I mean, he _did_ save me and bring me back home."

"But… aren't you afraid he might come back for you?" Donna asked. "He does know where you're staying, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, I guess he does… But I kind of want to see him again."

Tina and Donna gasped in shock.

"Say what? You _want_ to see him again? Are you crazy?!" Tine cried. "What if he's trying to trick you? Lure you into a false sense of security so he could gain your trust? Then when you least expect it, he'll POUNCE!"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Tina has a point, Martha." Donna said. "You need to be really careful. This thing knows what you look like and where you live. You never know what he might do."

"And that's exactly why I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt." Martha objected. "And besides, people aren't always what they seem. As my mom would say, appearances can be deceiving. And… and I think he's kinda _nice_."

"But he lives in a cave on Mt. Crumpit all alone. Who does that?"

"But he wasn't alone when I met him. He had a dog called Max, at least he has _one_ friend."

"Even so, you can't be too careful."

"Why are you being so nice to us, Tina?"

Tina paused before speaking again. "If you tell anyone in my circle or anybody in town about me being nice to you two, you'll both be in _huge_ trouble with me _and_ my mom."

"Gotcha." Donna nodded.

Tina sighed. "Look, I don't really hate you, Donna. I actually want to play with you and your friends, but my mom tells me that you're beneath me and that I shouldn't be socializing with you. Only the kids _she_ approves."

"Oh… I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. The thing is, I really want to be friends with you guys and I want to be a better person, too… but I don't even know where to start."

Then Martha got an idea. "Hey. Why don't we have a little sleepover at my place?"

"A sleepover?" Tina and Donna asked in confusion.

"Yeah, why not? The first step to becoming friends is to get to know one another better. And what better way to do it than with a play date with the new girl in town? And if you want to, I could even tell you guys more about what I found out about the 'Monster' in private."

"Hmmmm. Good idea." Tina said. "But if you need to get any more information on the Monster, I suggest going to Mr. Bricklebaum. He knows more about the Monster than anyone else in Whoville, apparently."

"Okay. Why don't you girls meet up at my house at about 6:30 pm?" Martha suggested. "My mom and dad will already be at my aunt's house for an adult holiday party by then and they won't be back until tomorrow morning."

"Oh, cool." Donna said. "I'll ask my parents if I can come over."

"Me too." Tina added. "See you then, Martha."

And with that the two girls ran off in different directions, leaving Martha by herself.

"And I have a _lot_ of work to do." She said to herself.

Martha ran off back to her house and searched through her parents' things until finally, she found it: her father's tape recorder. And luckily, it had lots of spare film. She then went over to Mr. Bricklebaum's house and knocked at the door. Mr. Bricklebaum answered with a big smile on his face.

"Oh, why hello there, little girl." He cheerfully said. "And who you might you be?"

"My name is Martha May and… and I hear you know a few things about the Monster of Mt. Crumpit." Martha said, holding up the photo she brought.

Bricklebaum took the photo and looked at it; he nodded his head. "Wow, this is a pretty nice picture you took of Mr. Grinch."

"Mr. _Grinch_? _That's_ what he's called? …You know him?"

He paused. "Why don't you come on in, Miss May? And I'll tell you everything you need to know."

"Oh! Uh… okay."

At Bricklebaum's house, Martha had learned that the Monster of Mt. Crumpit was really called the Grinch and that he really did live in a cave on top of the mountain. Bricklebaum also mentioned that he considered himself and the Grinch to be best friends… but Martha wasn't really buying it. She also learned that Bricklebaum was the one that told everyone in Whoville that the Grinch was a savage, flesh-eating monster that only comes out at night because the Grinch had asked him to.

"But why would you do that?" Martha asked. "You know they're not true."

"I know, but I can't say 'no' to that Mr. Grinch! If spreading vicious rumors about him makes him happy, then who am I to refuse his happiness?" Bricklebaum said.

"So… _he_ came up with the stories himself? And he told _you_ to spread them? Just to get people to leave him alone?"

"He sure did. You know, Mr. Grinch can be a real softie once you get to know him."

Martha opened her mouth to speak, but she soon paused; she didn't know what to say next. She thought about her experience with the Grinch all over again; she remembered how he raced after her down the mountain, how he came to her rescue, how he treated the scrape on her knee in the post office… and how he brought her home. Maybe she was right; maybe this creature wasn't as bad as people thought. She took a sip from her cocoa and got up from the sofa.

"Thank you so much for letting me talk to you, Mr. Bricklebaum." She said, turning off the tape recorder. "But I really should be getting back to town now. I'm having a sleepover tonight."

"A sleepover, eh? Well, don't let me keep you here any longer." Bricklebaum said as he and Martha went over to the door. "I hope you have everything you need."

"I think I do. Thanks again."

"Anytime, Martha May. I hope I'll see you around. Bye-bye."

"Bye."

And with that, Martha waved goodbye to Bricklebaum and went out the door with her tape recorder in tow.

"What a sweet little girl." Bricklebaum chuckled to himself before closing the door.

After he closed the door, Martha checked her watch and saw that it was almost 4:00 pm. She hopped down the stairs and ran back down the mountain to prepare the house for her parents' departure and the arrival of her new friends. Little did she know a pair of mischievous eyes watched her descend the mountain.


	4. The Sleepover Part 1

Martha had already changed into her pajamas, made some fresh hot cocoa, and set up games and movies by the time the doorbell rang. She excitedly ran to the door to see Donna and Tina standing in the doorway with their sleeping bags and toothbrushes.

"Hey, girls. Come on in." Martha said, ushering the two girls to come inside.

"Thanks again for inviting us, Martha." Donna said before she took a tin box out of her backpack and gave them to Martha; the box was filled with beautifully decorated sugar cookies. "I hope you don't mind, but I brought some cookies my mom made."

"And I brought a few board games, if that's okay." Tina added, holding up the games.

"That's awesome. Tina, you can just set your games on the coffee table and I'll put these cookies in the kitchen, so we can have them for dessert." Martha said, making her way to the kitchen.

"Wow, Martha, you really went all out for this. And on such short notice, too." Tina said as she closed the door behind her.

"Yeah, sorry. I only had a couple hours to prepare everything, including picking out what movies we'll want to watch, what games we'll want to play, and even making enough hot cocoa for us." Martha said, heading back to the door. "My mom and dad left me some dinner money before they left. So what are you guys hungry for?"

Donna and Tina looked at each other and nodded their heads before turning back to Martha. "Pizza!"

"Pizza it is!" Martha exclaimed with a smile. "To the phone in the kitchen!"

"I'll get the phone book!" Tina offered.

The three girls ran into the kitchen and made their way to the telephone. Tina flipped through the pages of the phone book and found the number to a pizza place right in Whoville. Martha called and a slightly older voice answered.

"Hello, Whovelini's Pizza. This is Wally speaking. How may I help you?"

"Hi, I'd like to make an order for delivery." Martha said.

"Sure, what would you like?" Wally asked.

"I'd like a large pizza with pepperoni, please."

"Of course. And what's the address?"

"1178, Cheer Road."

"Got it."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. See you in a few minutes"

"See ya." Martha hung up the phone and turned to her new friends. "It's on its way."

"When will it be here?" Tina asked before she heard a knock at the door.

"Pizza guy." A voice on the other side called out.

"That was fast." Martha said as she headed towards the door; she opened it and saw a teenage boy with brown hair holding a pizza box. "Hi."

"Here's your order, sweetheart." Wally said, handing Martha the box. "That'll be about five dollars."

"Okay." Martha took the bit of money from the fridge and handed Wally about seven dollars.

"This is seven." Wally said.

"Keep the change."

"Oh, okay. Thank you. Have a nice night and happy holidays."

"You too. Goodnight."

Martha closed the door, carried the pizza into the kitchen, and set it onto the table. She, Donna, and Tina took a sniff and they smiled before opening the box. They each grabbed a slice before quickly dropping it.

"Ow, ow, ow! I think this is too hot to eat." Tina whined.

"Maybe you're right." Martha said. "We should probably just wait a little bit while it cools."

"So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Donna asked.

"We could play a game or watch a movie." Martha suggested.

"Oh! Why don't we go play outside for a bit? That way, we could work up an appetite and when we go back in, the pizza will be cool enough to eat." Tina said.

"Good idea. Wait here, I'll go get my winter stuff." Martha said, running to the closet to get her coat, boots, hat, scarf, and mittens.

"Wait, what about the cocoa you just made?" Donna asked.

"Exactly, I _just_ made it. It's way too hot to drink right now, but hopefully by the time we come back in for dinner, it'll be just right." Martha answered.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Tina said just as soon as Martha came back with her winter clothes on.

"Let's go!"

And with that, the three girls went to the back door and ran outside to play in the snow without a care in the world. However, a few minutes after they left, a certain crafty fellow had made his way to Martha's house… it was the creature now known as the Grinch. He went up to the door and tried the doorknob, but to his surprise, the door wasn't even locked.

"Hello? Anyone home? Would anybody mind if I come in?" He called out, sticking his head through the open door; he looked at his dog who gave him a confused look. He shrugged and went inside. "Guess not."

The Grinch stepped into the house with Max following close behind, looking around all the while. "Hmm, nice place they got here. These people must be pretty rich." He then noticed the VHS tapes on the floor and board games on the coffee table in the living room. "Someone must be having a party."

Three chairs were set right next to each other; a big one, a medium-sized one, and a small one. With a smirk, the Grinch scratched his chin in thought. "I'm sure nobody would mind if I have a seat."

He leaned back in the first chair, only to be met with incredibly uncomfortable and slippery cushions. He yelped. "What is wrong with this chair?! Too lumpy."

Next he took a seat in the second chair, only to bounce upon the springy cushions. He groaned. "Too bouncy."

Then the Grinch tried the smallest chair. "Hmmm, not bad. Not bad at all. Just right." But the moment he sat down, the chair had broken beneath him and he fell right to the floor. "Okay… OUCH!"

Max went over to his master and gave a worried bark. Grinch stood up almost immediately and brushed himself with his hands. "It's okay, Max. I'm fine. But I suppose that's what I get for sitting in the smallest chair in the room. Right?"

The little dog merely cocked his head to the side in a shrug. Then the Grinch paused and turned his nose up at the smell of food; he smiled and headed to the kitchen to see what smelled so good. Max was following close behind. The Grinch's eyes brightened at the pizza box sitting on the table; he licked his lips and smiled.

"Pizza? Wow! These kids really know how to throw a party." He said to himself as he opened the box; he smiled. "Classic pepperoni, my favorite. I bet they won't mind if I have one taste."

Before he could grab a piece however, he heard a loud thump. He jumped at the sound and scowled as he headed towards the window. He peered through the curtains and saw Martha, Donna, and Tina playing in the snowy backyard. The Grinch rolled his eyes at the sight; he hated seeing happy Whos, especially happy Who children. But as he watched, he took notice of the gigantic, joy-filled grins adorning the faces of the little girls. His face softened ever so slightly.

"Those girls look like they're having a lot of fun out there…" He whispered.

The Grinch's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a low growling sound. He looked down at Max accusingly, thinking it was him, only to hear the sound again. He now saw that it wasn't coming from Max at all. The Grinch quickly realized that the sound he just heard was coming from his stomach; he was very hungry. He blushed and smirked in embarrassment and turned back to the pizza; his mouth watered and his stomach grumbled even louder.

"Oh, what the heck?" He sighed, shrugging his shoulders and sitting down at the table. He took a slice and raised it to his lips before taking a big bite. He smiled. "Mmmmmm! You can _never_ go wrong with good ol' fashioned pepperoni, eh Max?"

Max looked at his master with big pleading eyes, hoping to receive a treat. The Grinch had just finished that one slice before looking at his dog. He smirked and tossed him the crust, which Max happily caught and ate in a few big chews. Grinch propped his feet onto the table as he grabbed another slice. By the fourth slice of pizza, he paused and looked at Max who had just finished another crust.

"…What do you think, Max? Could I really eat this whole thing myself if I really wanted to?" He asked. Max responded with a whimper; he reminded the Grinch of the three little girls who ordered the pizza in the first place and how disappointed they'd be if they went back inside to see it gone. Grinch smirked and got up from the table. "Fine. I'll stop… just for a few cookies."

He went over to the tin, took out almost half of the cookies Donna had brought, and gobbled them all up. He licked his lips of any remaining crumbs or frosting. The Grinch then turned his attention to the three cups of cocoa sitting on the counter.

"And a little bit of hot cocoa to wash it all down." He said before grabbing one cup and taking a sip, only to spit it out almost immediately. "Agh! That's too hot! I know it's supposed to be hot, but that's ridiculous."

He set the cup down and took a sip from the second one. He spat it out again. "Oh, yuck! This is too cold. Who ever heard of COLD cocoa?" He set it down on the counter.

Then he took a gulp from the last cup and smiled. "Mmmmm! Now _this_ one's just right." And with that, he brought the cup up to his mouth and gulped down every last drop. Feeling satisfied, he wiped his mouth with his arm and let out a belch. "That wasn't so bad, was it Max?"

Max barked before the Grinch yawned and patted his full belly. "I could really use a nap right about now."

So he decided to go upstairs to lie down in one of the beds. On the second floor, he found three bedrooms. He went into the first room and saw a large bed meant for two; this must've been Martha's parents' room.

He turned his back to the bed and fell back onto it, only to be met with a mattress almost as hard as wood. He sat up and rubbed his back. "This is too hard! Who could sleep on a bed like this? Oh well, on to the next room."

So he went to the guest bedroom and laid down, which resulted in him sinking into the mattress and struggling to get out. "This is too soft! What'd they stuff this mattress with, quicksand?" He stood up and sighed. "And the way things are going, I can only assume what the next bed would feel like."

Then the Grinch found himself in the last room with green walls and a few pieces of girls' clothing strewn about on the floor; this was Martha's room. He rolled his eyes and went over to the bed; he laid down and was pleasantly surprised. "Ah, yeah. Not too hard, not too soft. Just right…"

The Grinch pulled the covers over his head and fell fast asleep… and that's when Martha and her friends came back inside. They took off their coats, hats, gloves, scarves, and boots and excitedly ran to the kitchen.

"I don't know about you girls, but I'm parched. Where's that cocoa?" Tina said as she ran to the counter and grabbed a cup of cocoa, only to be met with a shocking surprise. "Hey! Someone's been drinking my cocoa!"

"What? Tina, that's ridiculous." Donna laughed as she took her cup, only to see the exact same thing. "Huh? Someone's been drinking _my_ cocoa, too!"

Martha reluctantly took her cocoa and looked inside; she gasped. "Someone's been drinking _my_ cocoa and it's all gone!"

"How could that be?" Donna asked, setting her cup down.

"How should I know?" Tina retorted.

"Uh, guys? You might want to take a look at this." Martha said; Tina and Donna looked to see their friend standing on the table in front of the open pizza box. They quickly joined her and gasped in shock to see that someone had eaten half of their pizza. " _Half_ of our pizza is gone!"

"Okay, this is weird." Tina said.

"And a little spooky too." Donna added nervously. "Who would do this?"

"Someone big and mean, I bet." Tina commented.

"Okay, girls. Let's calm down. We may be home alone, but we'll be fine. Let's look around the house some more." Martha suggested, jumping off of the table.

Donna looked over at the counter and pointed a finger at the cookie tin. "Someone's even gotten into the cookies I brought!"

"Wow, whoever's been in here must've been pretty hungry." Tina commented

"And thirsty, too." Donna added.

"Hey, girls! Look!" Martha called. The other girls went to the front door to see what Martha wanted; they saw the front door wide open. "I don't remember leaving the door open."

"Me neither." Tina and Donna said in unison; they closed the door.

"And see these?" Martha pointed a finger at a trail of water on the floor. "Wet footprints! And they lead… to the living room. Come on."

They tiptoed to the living room and Martha immediately knew something was wrong.

"Martha, someone's been sitting in your dad's chair." Donna said.

"Someone's been sitting in your mom's chair, too." Tina added.

Martha gasped. "Someone's been sitting in my chair, and they broke it!"

Tina and Donna went over to Martha and saw that she was right; they looked at each other with wide eyes. Whoever was in the house must've been awfully heavy.

"You don't think somebody broke in while we were playing, do you?" Donna asked.

"Maybe, but I'm just confused. Why would someone come into somebody else's house without asking and then sit in their chairs and play with their food? That's what I don't understand." Tina replied.

"Hey, I'm just as confused as you two! They even _broke_ my chair! Hey, this is not my fault, people!" Martha clarified before hearing a sound coming from the second floor; it sounded like a faint burp followed by snoring. The three girls went silent. "Did you hear that?"

"Someone's upstairs." Tina whispered.

"Who do you think it is?" Donna asked.

"There's only one way to find out. Let's investigate and see if there's any more damage. Stay close." Martha said as she picked up a pillow from the pile of wood that used to be her chair.

Donna and Tina quietly followed Martha up the stairs to see the three rooms. Martha tiptoed into her parents' room while Tina and Donna split up and searched the other two rooms to sniff out the culprit.

"Someone's been sleeping in my parents' bed." Martha whispered.

"Hey, Martha! Over here. Someone's been sleeping in the guest bed, too." Donna softly called out. "Find anything, Tina?" No answer. "Tina?"

Donna and Martha went over to see where Tina was and she was standing in the doorway of Martha's room, completely petrified.

"Tina, what's wrong?" Martha asked.

"Martha? Someone's been sleeping in _your_ bed… and it's still there." Tina whispered, pointing a quivering finger to the bed.

The three girls stared into the room in shock; there was a large figure lying in Martha's bed and they couldn't tell who or what it was because it was completely covered up by the blanket. It was also snoring very loudly. Martha narrowed her eyes and froze; in the darkness of the room, she could faintly make out a hand hanging off the side of the bed. She put a finger to her lips and slowly tiptoed into the room, her friends followed close behind her. They approached the bed, unsure of what it is they're really dealing with here.

"What do you think it is?" Tina asked.

"I don't know, but it's something big." Donna replied.

"Maybe we should pull back the sheets." Martha suggested.

"Good idea, Martha. You do it." Tina said.

"Hold on, why does _she_ have to do it?" Donna argued.

"It's _her_ bed."

"Quiet, both of you. I'll do it." Martha hissed, taking a grip on the blanket; as slowly and carefully as possible, she pulled back the sheets to reveal the sleeping Grinch. Her eyes widened. "It's him…"


	5. The Sleepover Part 2

The three girls stared at the creature laying before them in shock. Donna and Tina were about to scream when Martha quickly covered both of their mouths. In a panic, she rushed them both into her closet and shut the door.

"Martha, do you know what that is?!" Tina hissed. "That's the Monster of Mt. Crumpit!"

"I know who he is, but he's not a monster." Martha said. "His real name is Grinch."

" _Grinch_?" Donna repeated.

"Yes. That's what I wanted to tell you. I talked to Mr. Bricklebaum earlier today and he told me what he knew."

Martha told her friends everything Bricklebaum told her that day and they couldn't believe what they were hearing. All of the stories they heard about the mysterious creature that lurks around Mt. Crumpit weren't true and this creature was just a lonely stranger with only a dog to talk to. They both stared at Martha with wide eyes, unable to find the right words. Before any of them could speak however, a moan was heard behind the door. Martha opened the door ever so slightly and peeked out; she saw the Grinch turn over onto his right side, still sound asleep. She closed the door again.

"Oh boy, I think he could wake up at any minute." She whispered.

"What are we gonna do?" Donna asked.

"I know. When we get downstairs, let's split up around the house. Whoever he isn't chasing can go for help." Tina suggested.

"Or we could just hit him with a bunch of pillows." Donna chimed in.

"Do you _want_ to end up in that thing's tummy?!" Tina hissed.

"No…" Donna whimpered.

Martha sighed in frustration. "Guys, I already told you. The Grinch _doesn't_ eat Whos."

"Better safe than swallowed, Martha May." Tina argued before she heard another moan followed by something being thrown against the door. The three girls jumped in terror and huddled closer together in response.

"We've got to do something." Donna whimpered.

"We need to get out of here." Tina said.

Martha didn't have time to say anything before she heard a yawn mixed with an annoyed grumble. A pale light suddenly flickered on; it was the light from Martha's bedside lamp.

'Oh no, he's awake!' Martha thought. She looked at her friends and put a finger to her lips, gesturing them to keep quiet; they nodded and obeyed.

"Ugh, how long was I out?" The Grinch's voice said groggily. "Max? Are you awake? Where are you, boy?"

"Who's Max?" Tina asked before Donna quickly covered her mouth with both hands.

The three little girls remained absolutely still and deathly silent, hoping the Grinch hadn't heard Tina. But he quickly turned his head in the direction of the closet; he raised an eyebrow as Max jumped up onto the bed next to his master.

"Did you hear that, Max?" Grinch asked. He slowly got up from the bed and went over to the closet door; Max hopped off of the bed and followed him.

The Grinch grabbed the door handle, turned it, and opened the door, only to be met with the three little girls crouched inside. They screamed at him; he yelped in surprise before Martha, Donna, and Tina slid under the Grinch's legs, ran past him, and scrambled out the bedroom door. They were heading towards the stairs.

"What are you-where did you even—? Ugh, why you little brats! Come back here!" The Grinch yelled angrily as he ran after them.

The four of them ran around the house, causing quite a ruckus. The Grinch couldn't chase after all three of the girls at once, so he whistled for Max to help him out. And eventually, the Grinch had the girls cornered. He glared down at them with his hands on his hips as the three girls stared up at him in horror. After a moment, Martha stood straight and took a step forward; Donna and Tina were hiding behind her.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this." She whispered to her friends before facing the Grinch; she frowned at him. "…What's the deal? What are you doing in my house? And why are you scaring me and my friends?"

"Me?! What were _you_ three doing hiding in the closet?" Grinch retorted.

"It's _my_ closet, in _my_ room. What were you doing in my bed?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you."

"You have no right to do what you did."

Donna took a step forward, trying to be brave. "Yeah, Martha's right. What makes you think you can just come into other people's houses without asking?"

"Yeah. And why'd you eat our food, drink our cocoa, break Martha's chair, and sleep in her bed? This isn't Goldilocks, you know!" Tina added.

The Grinch scoffed. "You three seriously think you can discipline _me_? In case you haven't noticed, I'm a lot bigger and older than all of you."

"That's no excuse. What you did was wrong and we just want to know why. You can't possibly be here to _gobble_ us up. You must still be pretty full from half of our pizza and cookies, right?" Martha gave the Grinch a conspiratorial smirk, which made him tense up. He couldn't think of what to say next; he realized that this tiny Who was _much_ smarter than he gave her credit for. He rolled his eyes and let out a sigh in defeat.

"I'm assuming you already know the truth?" He asked; they looked at each other before looking back at him and nodding their heads. "I figured. You girls and Bricklebaum are pretty much the only ones in this town that know the truth about me. But you three have to promise me one thing." He knelt down closer to Martha and her friends and furrowed his brow. "Promise me that you will _never_ tell anyone about this, any of this. This will be _our_ secret and ours alone. Do you understand?"

However, before any of the girls could respond, there was a knock at the door. Everyone froze. Tina reluctantly tiptoed towards the door and looked through the peephole to see a man with dark skin and wearing a red and grey overcoat standing on the doorstep. She gasped and ran back to the group.

"What is it? Who's at the door?" Donna asked.

"It's Mr. Welltether from school!" Tina replied.

"What's HE doing here?"

"I don't know!"

"Hello? Is anyone home?" A deep voice called from behind the door.

"We need to get rid of him!" Martha hissed. "He can't see Mr. Grinch here!"

"Well, what do _you_ suggest we do?" Grinch asked.

"You need to hide! I'll handle this." Martha said as she ran to the door. She opened it to see Mr. Welltether and she gave him a nervous smile. "Hello."

"Hello there, young lady. My name is Mr. Welltether; I'm a teacher at Whoville Elementary School." Mr. Welltether said politely.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Martha May." Martha said, twiddling her thumbs. "Is there something you need?"

"I didn't mean to bother anyone. I just heard a bit of a commotion going on in this house and I just wanted to investigate. I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Mr. Welltether replied.

"Oh, no. No, you're not. I promise."

"What's going on over there?" A new voice called.

Martha froze at the sound of the Grinch's voice. She turned around to see the Grinch approach, but he was bundled up in a heavy winter coat, gloves, a hat, and rather big boots. He was completely covered up, except for his bright green eyes. Mr. Welltether paused and looked at the stranger in confusion.

"What are you doing, Miste—" Martha started before the Grinch covered her mouth with his hand.

"Why good evening, sir. I'm Sven Welltether, from Whoville Elementary." The teacher said.

"Nice to meet you." Grinch said, shaking the man's hand. "My name is, uh… Glen, I'm Martha May's uncle."

'What are you saying?! I don't have an Uncle Glen!' Martha thought as Grinch put a hand on her back.

"Are you Martha's legal guardian?" Mr. Welltether asked, stroking his chin.

"Oh, no; of course not. She and her parents are just visiting for the holiday season. Isn't that right, sweetie?" Grinch asked, gently nudging Martha with his elbow.

"Uh… Yeah! Yes, we're just visiting." Martha answered. "My mommy and daddy are out at a party and my uncle here is watching me and a couple of friends. We're having a sleepover."

"A sleepover, eh? Well have fun. And be sure to not stay up too late; you don't want to end up too tired to do anything, now do you?"

"Heavens no, of course she doesn't."

"Now, would you mind telling me what all of that noise was?"

"Noise? Oh yeah! The girls and I were just playing a game of hide and seek and I guess we went a little overboard. That's all."

"I see. Well it was a pleasure to meet you, Martha May. I hope you don't mind, but I also stopped by to give you this."

Mr. Welltether handed Martha a green envelope with little symbols of holly and bells printed all over it; she looked at it curiously before looking up at the teacher again.

"Be sure to read it when you get the chance." He said.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Nothing special. Now, I'd best be going." Welltether said, adjusting his hat.

"Yeah, you do that. Goodbye, Welltether. We'll see you around, I'm sure. Bye-bye." Grinch said, trying to close the door.

"Okay. Goodnight, sir. Goodnight, Martha." Welltether said before the door closed.

The Grinch heaved a sigh of relief and leaned against the door before collapsing onto the floor. Martha approached him and took his hat off.

"Are you okay, Mr. Grinch?" She asked.

"I'm fine. Just really hot." The Grinch replied as he took off the gloves and scarf.

"Why'd you do that?"

"Well… I didn't want you girls to get into trouble for being home alone."

"That's… nice of you. Here, let me help you with the boots."

"Thanks."

Martha then grabbed the Grinch's left foot and pulled on the boot, but it wouldn't come off. She tried pulling again, but it still wouldn't come off.

"What's wrong?" Grinch asked.

"Uh, it won't budge." She said.

"Pull harder."

"I'm trying."

"We'll help." Donna said as she and Tina went over to their friend to help her.

"Thanks, girls." Martha smiled as her friends grabbed onto her and they began to pull together.

The girls pulled and tugged and tugged and pulled, but the boot wouldn't come off. The Grinch pulled and yanked on his end too, but it didn't help much. Then after a few seconds of relentless yanking, Max came in. He grabbed Tina's backside with his mouth and joined the struggle until the Grinch noticed the zipper on one side of the boot. He undid it and suddenly, the boot came flying off of the Grinch's foot, which caused the three girls and the little dog to stumble backwards and fall onto each other. The Grinch just sat there on the floor, stifling his laughter.

"What's so funny?" Tina asked as she got up.

"Nothing. Although, it might've helped if you undid the zipper first." Grinch lied with a snicker; he reached out and easily took off the other boot before standing up and walking back over to the closet; all three girls blushed.

"Thanks for covering for us." Donna said.

"Don't mention it." The Grinch replied as he put the winter clothes he used back into the closet where he found them. "You girls really shouldn't be home alone, especially this late at night."

"What do _you_ care?" Tina asked, taking a seat on the living room floor; Martha and Donna joined her.

"I don't. It was just an observation." He shrugged his shoulders and sat across from the girls; Max quickly sat down right beside him.

"So… you're really _not_ a monster?" Donna asked.

"Nope." Grinch shook his head.

"The stories about you are _fake_?" Tina added.

"Yep."

"And you don't really eat Who flesh?" Both Tina and Donna said in unison.

"No way. Besides, it's too sweet and gamey." The three girls froze at that statement; the Grinch chuckled. "I'm kidding. You Whos maybe annoying, but I couldn't eat one of you even if I wanted to… which I _don't_."

"That's… weirdly comforting." Martha commented.

The group all sat in awkward silence for a good few minutes before the Grinch finally spoke up.

"So… what do you kids wanna do now?"

Martha, Tina, and Donna curiously looked at one another, unsure of how to answer. They eventually decided to continue on with their sleepover; they ate the rest of their pizza and cookies, they played some games, watched a movie or two, and the Grinch even ended up telling them a story before they headed off to sleep.

"Cinderella and the Prince were married and they lived happily ever after. The end." The Grinch concluded as he closed the book of fairy tales Martha had given him; Donna and Tina had already fallen asleep in their sleeping bags on the floor while Martha was the only one left awake.

"I've always liked that story." She said before letting out a small yawn; she laid down in her bed before the Grinch brought the blanket up to her chin. "Thanks again for covering for us, Mr. Grinch."

"Hey, don't worry about it." He said before turning off the light. "Goodnight, Martha May."

"Goodnight, Mr. Grinch." Martha said before she drifted off to sleep.

Grinch got up, tiptoed to the door, and quietly closed the door before heading back downstairs with Max. He looked at the broken chair in the living room before getting an idea.

Martha woke up at 9:30 the next morning; she sat up and looked to see that her friends were still asleep. She got out of bed and went downstairs to fix herself some breakfast before her parents came home. The moment she came downstairs, she was surprised to see the kitchen all clean. Martha then went into the living room to see that her chair was all fixed and there was a note attached to it. It read:

" _Sorry about the chair. I hope this makes up for it._

 _-Grinch_ "

Martha's eyes widened; the Grinch fixed her chair last night? Why would he do that? Maybe she was right; maybe this Grinch wasn't bad after all, just misunderstood. She smiled.


	6. Auditions for the Christmas Pageant

A day or two went by and Martha had seen no sign of the Grinch or his dog. She wanted to properly thank him for fixing her chair and for watching her and her friends during that sleepover. Luckily, Mortimer and Felicity never found out about it and Martha didn't get into any trouble, and neither did Tina or Donna.

During that time, Martha had learned that the envelope Mr. Welltether had given her contained a flier which said that there was going to be auditions for a Christmas ice-skating pageant and every child in Whoville was allowed to audition. Of course, she was very excited because she _loved_ to ice skate. However, there was one problem… she didn't bring her ice skates and she had to get new ones. She begged her parents to buy some for her, but they always refused. She did find a beautiful pair of skates in one of the shops in town, but they were far too expensive and she didn't have enough pocket money. So she decided to ask Mr. Welltether for more information. At the end of the school day, she knocked on the door of his classroom.

"Come in." Said a voice from inside.

Martha opened the door and peeked into the room to see Mr. Welltether sitting at his desk. He looked up from his work and smiled.

"Oh, hello Martha." He said politely. "Come in, dear. Come in."

Martha went over to the desk and stood across from the friendly teacher.

"Hi, Mr. Welltether." She greeted. "I read the note you gave me and I just wanted to ask you a few questions about the Christmas Pageant."

"Of course. What's on your mind?"

"Well, I want to audition."

"That's good."

"Yeah, but I forgot bring my own skates."

"Oh. Well, you shouldn't let that stop you. I'm holding the auditions and if you want to, you can borrow some skates. I always have a few extra pairs lying around."

Martha's eyes brightened. "Really?"

"Yes, of course. Auditions start tomorrow at noon in the school ice rink, don't be late. Sign this and we're good to go."

Mr. Welltether handed Martha a clipboard with a sign-up sheet and a pen. Without hesitation, she took the pen and signed her name.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Welltether." She beamed.

"You're welcome, dear." Mr. Welltether nodded. "I hope to see you tomorrow."

"See ya."

And with that Martha ran out the door, feeling as happy as can be. She immediately told Tina and Donna that she was going to audition for the pageant and they were very happy for her.

"I wonder if you'll get a big part in the pageant. Maybe even the lead!" Tina said.

"Thanks, Tina. But if we're being honest, I don't really mind if I get either a big part or even a small one. I'll be happy either way." Martha replied. "Besides, I don't even know what the pageant is going to be about. This is my first time in Whoville, you know."

"I understand, Martha. But whatever happens, I bet you'll do great." Donna smiled.

"Thanks, girls. Do you think you can help me think of a routine for the audition?" Martha asked.

"Can do." Tina and Donna nodded and smiled at their friend.

The three girls nearly spent an entire afternoon brainstorming together, trying to think of a suitable routine. The auditions were tomorrow, but it'd be better to start now than at the very last minute. Soon, it was getting dark and they all had to go home. Martha told her parents about the pageant and the auditions the next day.

"That's fantastic, sweetie!" Felicity exclaimed.

"Sounds like a great opportunity." Mortimer added.

"Really?" Martha asked.

"Yeah. You're already a wonderful skater, but if you think about it, this could really help improve your skills and become even better."

"You think so, daddy?"

"I know so."

The redhead smiled. The next morning, Martha woke up bright and early; she didn't want to be late for the auditions. She got up at exactly 9:00 am, brushed her teeth, got dressed, brushed her hair, and ran down to the kitchen to eat breakfast. Just as she was about to head out the door, her mother stopped her.

"Oh! Before you go, sweetie, come here first." Felicity said.

"But, mom, I gotta go." Martha objected before she relented and sighed. "Okay, fine." She went over to her mother who gave her a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Okay, _now_ you can go." Felicity beamed.

Martha smiled and hurried out, saying, "Thanks. Bye, mom. Bye, daddy. I'll see you guys later."

"Break a leg, sweetums." Mortimer proudly called out.

"Roger that!" Martha replied as she went out the door and hopped onto her sled.

She slid down the snowy roads back to the school where Mr. Welltether was waiting. A few Whos waved at her and said 'hi' as she passed them, but then she ran into Mr. Bricklebaum who was on his way home after running a few errands. She stopped her sled.

"Well hello, Martha May." He greeted.

"Hi, Mr. Bricklebaum." Martha greeted back.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" He asked.

"Just to the school. I'm auditioning for the Christmas Pageant."

"Really? Well I hope you get in."

"Thanks. And I've gotta hurry; Mr. Welltether said auditions start at noon."

Bricklebaum checked his wrist watch. "But it's only about 10:15."

"Better safe than sorry."

"Whatever floats your boat, little missy. Here, let me give you a hand there." Bricklebaum then got behind Martha and gave her sled a quick push down the hill. He smiled and waved at her. "Break a leg, Martha!"

"Thanks, Mr. Bricklebaum! See you later!" Martha called before she rode out of sight.

Martha had arrived at Whoville Elementary earlier than expected. She tied her sled to the bike rack, ran into the doors and through the halls into the gymnasium. She looked around and ran through the doors leading to the indoor ice rink where Mr. Welltether was waiting in the wings. He was sitting in the front row with a clipboard in his hands; he looked up from the clipboard when he heard dainty footsteps approach.

"Ah, Martha May." He said. "You're early."

"Yeah, sorry." Martha apologized. "I was just so excited that I couldn't wait."

"I understand." He handed her a pair of ice skates and she happily took them. "We still have a little bit before auditions officially start, so would you like to hang out in the hall for a little bit until everyone else shows up? And you can even try on these skates to see if they fit."

"Sure. Thanks very much, sir."

Martha nodded and went out the door into the nearby hallway to wait for people to show up and for auditions to start. She took the skates and put them on; to her pleasure and surprise, they were just the right size. As she waited a few more children showed up, along with a parent or two; they took a seat on the floor next to her. When Martha got a better look, she realized that some of these kids were older than her; maybe ten or eleven… maybe even their early teens.

"Hey." A little boy said; Martha turned her head to the right and gave him a friendly smile.

"Hi. I'm Martha May." She said.

"I'm Bert. You're here for auditions?" He asked.

"Yep." Martha replied.

"Are those your skates?"

"Oh, no. I forgot mine back at home. Mr. Welltether is letting me borrow a pair."

"Cool. Are you new in town?"

"I'm only here for Christmas with my parents."

"That's cool."

Bert and Martha talked for a little bit until finally, noon came around and it was time for auditions to start. Bert was up first.

"Break a leg, Bert." Martha said as he headed towards the door.

"Thanks." Bert said before he went through the door with his mother following close behind; the door closed.

Martha patiently waited for her name to be called up, eager to show Mr. Welltether what she can do and hopeful to even have a chance of getting in. She wanted to be in this show so badly; she didn't care if she was the lead, a side character, or even part of the stage crew, just as long as was a part of the pageant. Then finally, she heard her name and she briskly strode out onto the ice. Luckily, she already had a routine planned out in her head. Martha stood center stage with her head held high.

"Okay, Martha. Let's see what you've got." Mr. Welltether said.

Martha nodded and took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she took a ballerina pose and with one flick of her toe, she pushed off. As carefully and gracefully as possible, Martha strode and glided all over the ice. She twirled, spun, even did a leap here and there and Mr. Welltether watched in awed silence. Martha finished with a pose one would see in a child's music box. After a long moment of silence, everyone in the wings stood up and applauded at Martha's performance, especially Mr. Welltether.

"That was wonderful, Martha! Brava!" He cheered, standing from his seat.

Giving a sheepish smile and a shy curtsy, Martha skated off to the side and exited the ice rink to let the next participant go. She took a seat next to Bert. After everyone had gone and went, Mr. Welltether stood from his chair and faced the crowd behind him. He cleared his throat.

"Well, that's that." He announced. "You all did wonderful jobs, but I admit it will be difficult to choose who will be part of the pageant and who won't be. Now don't be disappointed if you don't get a part. The important thing is that you all did your best. I will post the cast tomorrow morning on the bulletin board near the auditorium. See you then."

And with that, everyone left the rink. Martha returned the skates to Mr. Welltether, but he told her to keep them. She was confused.

"Why?" She asked.

"You'll need them." He said with a wink.

Martha couldn't help but smile as she walked away; she hoped and prayed to herself she would get in. She told her parents about the auditions and they were very happy for her. That evening, she went to the frozen lake and looked at the skates clutched in her hand; she decided to go out onto the lake and practice. But as Martha was lacing up the skates, a few older kids approached her. She recognized them as some of the older kids who auditioned to be in the Christmas pageant… and they did not look too friendly. Tessie, Terri, Travis, and Trevor were standing with them.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"You're the new girl." A boy with brown hair and glasses said. "And you don't know who we are, do you?"

"No, I don't. So what?" Martha nervously asked.

"I'm Jamal and this is my crew; Kirby, Mike, Odie, Raini, Chip, Skip, and Fifi." Jamal said matter-of-factly.

"Nice to meet you."

"Don't start." Raini said, holding up her hand.

"We know what you're up to." Travis said.

"We know what you're planning." Kirby added.

"And we've got our eye on you." Chip and Skip said in unison; they high-fived as Tessie and Terri giggled.

"What are you talking about? I'm not planning anything, I swear." Martha said.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you shouldn't swear?" Odie said.

"Ugh, what is it that you want?" Martha retorted.

"We want Tina back." Trevor said. "We saw you and Donna with her earlier today. She's been spending less and less time with us, and now we know why."

Martha furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes at Tina's former friends.

"We also want you to back out of the pageant." Fifi commented.

Martha's eyes widened. "What? No way! What makes you think I'll quit just because you asked me to?"

"We're not asking you; we're telling you. Plus, we're much older than you." Mike answered.

"So? Anyone can participate; Mr. Welltether said so." The redhead argued.

"Everyone except rookies and twerps." Jamal said.

"I'm no rookie. I've been skating for _three_ years straight." Martha clarified.

"Well, you're FAR too young to be in this pageant." Jamal went on; the little girl just listened as she stood up. "And besides, rules are around for a reason; to protect us. Say I'm you; I'm skating and I feel pretty cool. And then, oh no. I get hiccups, I make a wrong turn, and I crack the ice!" He stepped down hard on the ground, narrowly missing Martha's little foot.

"Hey! You could've hurt me!" She cried out.

"You're an accident just waiting to happen." Jamal said, undeterred.

It was then that Jamal and his friends started to ridicule, tease, and taunt Martha as well as try to hurt her, only for her to crawl away from the fray in terror. She was terrified and very, _very_ confused; what is going on? Why are these kids being so mean to her? Where did they come off? What did she do? Did she do something wrong? Terri and Tessie turned around and approached her with dark glares on their faces.

"Why are you doing this? I just want to skate in the pageant." Martha said, trying to hold back tears.

"You will _never_ be a skater, city girl." Terri said.

"Because you're a _twerp_ , just like Jamal said." Tessie added.

"And that's all you'll _ever_ be!" They both shouted as they pushed Martha into a puddle of slush.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" A new voice yelled.

The kids all turned their heads in the direction of the voice. They quickly saw a dark figure approach from behind a large tree; they couldn't tell who or what was walking towards them, but the voice didn't sound happy, not at all.

"What is going on here?" The voice demanded.

"We were just messing around, buddy." Jamal answered in a snotty tone.

"You were hurting this little girl." The figure said.

"No, we weren't." Tessie said

"We barely even touched her." Terri added.

"Barely even touched her, huh? Then why is she sitting in that puddle, looking like she's about to cry?" The voice commanded.

"We don't have to explain ourselves." Trevor argued.

"Yeah, none of your business." Travis added.

"Wait, who are you anyway?" Fifi asked.

"Yeah, come into the light. We wanna see you." Odie added.

The figure said nothing, but slowly stepped under the light of a nearby streetlamp… only to reveal the Grinch with an angry look plastered on his face. The kids all froze at the sight and huddled together for safety.


	7. Bonding

"Step away from the little girl." The Grinch demanded.

"…Or what?" Kirby scoffed, trying to sound tough.

The Grinch scratched his chin in thought for a moment before he flashed a sinister smile. "…Or I'll just have to take you up to my cave and wolf you all down _whole_."

Terri, Tessie, Travis, and Trevor tensed up and took a few steps back; by now, they knew exactly what this creature was.

"You wouldn't." Jamal said.

"Try me." Grinch said before pausing.

After a moment or two of silence, he charged at the group of bullies and screamed and roared at them, which made them run for their lives and scream at the top of their lungs. Martha merely watched the exchange with wide eyes in silence, unsure of what was going on in that moment.

"The Monster of Mt. Crumpit is real!" Travis shouted.

"It's gonna eat us all!" Terri cried.

"Run for your lives!" Fifi exclaimed.

"Let's get outta here!" Jamal commanded as he and his friends ran off; Trevor, Tessie, Travis, and Terri ran off after them.

"That's right, go on! Get outta here before I gobble you all up for my supper! And don't come back!" The Grinch called before calming down. He could hear Max's barking from behind; he turned back to Martha who had a shocked look on her face and Max standing right beside her. He then went over to her and offered his hand to her. "You okay?"

She reluctantly took his hand and he helped her back on to her feet. Martha scratched Max's ears. "…I'm fine. Why'd you do that?"

"Do what?" Grinch asked.

"Chase those bullies away?"

"Oh, that. They were annoying."

Martha looked at the Grinch with a raised eyebrow as if to say, 'You sure about that?' He rolled his eyes and sighed; he relented.

"They were hurting you." He said, looking away from her. "And I never liked bullies."

"…Because _you_ were bullied as a kid?" Martha deduced; the Grinch scowled and said nothing. She took his hand, which made him glance down at her in surprise. "I'm sorry."

"…No, don't be. It's not your fault, kid. Why were those kids picking on you anyway?"

"If only I knew." Martha sighed and sat down on a nearby bench before the Grinch sat next to her; Max sat on his master's other side. "They said something about me being a rookie and a twerp and that I shouldn't skate in the pageant."

"You mean that stupid Christmas pageant I keep hearing about?"

"Yeah. I auditioned today and I gave it everything I had. And I thought I did pretty well, but just as I was about to go out onto the lake and practice, those guys showed up and they didn't look very friendly. Then out of nowhere, they started to say things like I'm too young to skate, that I should quit, and that I shouldn't have auditioned at all. But I don't want to quit; I just want to skate. What's their deal?"

Grinch paused for a moment before saying, "Maybe they're just afraid you'll get a big part in the pageant and they won't even get in. They're probably just jealous."

"Why would they be jealous of _me_? I'm not all _that_ good."

"They probably think otherwise."

"What makes you say that?"

"Maybe they just think you're better than them and therefore, they see you as a threat."

"I'm not better than anyone… Is that how other kids saw _you_?"

"No. They just thought of me as a freak. As you can clearly see, I'm… different from everyone else in this town. I grew up in an orphanage all by myself and there was no one else like me, at least not that I know of."

"So… you have no parents?"

"No. And even if I did, I doubt they would want me. I don't even remember what they looked like. But the point is that when I was school, I was basically an easy target for all of the bigger, meaner kids. They'd call names like 'loser' or 'creep' or 'fleabag' and they'd even beat me up on occasion, just to make my life a living nightmare. And when I got to high school, things only took a turn for the worse from there." Martha listened to every word of the Grinch's story; she scooted closer to him. "I've been called worse names than the ones in elementary school, and the beatings kept getting worse. One time, I was hit so hard that I got a black eye _and_ a bloody nose all in the same day. Then a few years back, I decided that I've had enough and I dropped out. I stayed up in my cave since I was a kid and I'll probably stay there for the rest of my life."

Martha sat flabbergasted; was that why the Grinch was so surly and snarky? And she deduced that those bullies were the reason for him to spread those rumors about himself, not just to get people to leave him alone.

"How old are you?" Martha asked.

Grinch gave her a confused look before saying, "To be honest… I have no idea what my age is. How old do you think I look?"

Martha smirked and scratched her head in thought for a moment, trying to decipher the Grinch's actual age… or at the very most guess it. She looked at him from his head to his feet, then looked back at his face.

"I'm just going out on a limb here, but maybe… late teens or early twenties, as my mom would say." She replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Maybe nineteen or twenty-one?"

"You think so?"

She nodded and shrugged. "Just a wild guess, though. How old do you think _I_ look?"

"You? Let me see…" The Grinch scratched his chin and inspected Martha from top to bottom. Then he paused. "You look to be about seven or nine, maybe?"

"Hmm, close. I'm eight."

"Guess I was pretty close."

They shared a laugh before Martha had a thought. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

The Grinch looked at the little girl in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, why are you being so nice when you're supposed to be mean? Why'd you save me that night? Why did you bring me home? Why did you look after me and my friends during that sleepover? And… why did you stand up to those bullies for me?"

The Grinch opened his mouth to speak, but then he paused and thought about these questions. Why _was_ he being so nice to Martha? She was just a kid and he barely even knew her; he was supposed to hate _every_ Who in Whoville, but to him… Martha May was different. He just felt so comfortable and safe around her, he almost felt like he could relate to her. He was so unfamiliar with this feeling of warmth and security that he didn't really understand what was going on with him. A concerned voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Mr. Grinch, are you okay?"

He turned back at Martha who was giving him a worried look.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." He said, giving a nervous chuckle. His face softened at the little girl. "But to answer your first question… I don't know. I just don't know." But then he thought of something. "There's still one thing I don't get… Why are _you_ being so nice to _me_?"

"Oh? Well… my mommy told me to show everyone a little kindness, no matter how different they might be." Martha replied. "Besides, you look like you needed it." She gently put a hand on his knee.

"But… not everyone deserves compassion."

"Maybe not, but… but I think _you_ do. I don't think you're a monster, just misunderstood."

The Grinch looked at Martha with wide eyes. "…I don't think I've _ever_ met a Who like you, Martha May."

"Maybe that's because I'm not from here." Martha admitted.

"You're not?"

"Nope. I'm from Who York City. My parents and I will be going back there the day after Christmas."

"Oh, so the day after Christmas… you'll be gone?"

"Yeah, I guess so. But I hope to come back and visit someday. And between you and me, I'd choose this place over Who York any day."

"Why?"

"Because… because Who York is too loud and gray and dirty and the people there aren't too nice. And Whoville? It's the total opposite; this place is clean, it's bright, it's full of color, and everyone here is friendly. I would give anything to live here."

The Grinch looked at Martha in shock. He had certainly never met someone like this before. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. Martha smiled and she gently laid her head on the Grinch's chest, surprised at how soft his fur was. Max was laying down on the bench, propping his on his master's knee. Suddenly, they all shot up at a beeping sound.

"What was that?" Grinch asked.

"Oh! That's my watch." Martha said as she checked her shamrock green wrist watch. She gasped at the time. "It's almost 7:00! I should be getting back to the house; it'll be time for dinner soon."

She was about to jump off of the bench when the Grinch stopped her. "Hold up, hold it. You are NOT walking home in those skates."

"Oh yeah, I forgot I was still wearing these." Martha giggled as she reached out for one of the laces.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this. Max, find her boots." Grinch commanded as he knelt down in front of Martha; he started to untie the skates. Max happily barked, hopped off the bench, and started to sniff around for the girl's winter boots.

"You really don't have to do this."

"No, it's okay, really." He took off the skates one by one just as Max came back with Martha's original boots. "Good boy, Max." Martha was just about to grab them, but Grinch stopped her again. "No, no. Allow me." He took one boot from his dog and carefully slipped it onto Martha's foot; he did the same thing with the other boot.

"Wow, thanks." Martha said as she hopped off the bench; she gently flung the skates over her shoulder.

"No problem." The Grinch said.

"Hey, do you think we could meet up again? Like, tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow, eh? That depends. What time would be good for you?"

"Maybe 3:00?"

"I can do 2:45. And maybe you can tell me if you got into that pageant or not." He offered his hand to her.

She smiled and shook it. "Deal! See you then."

"See ya."

And with her new skates in tow, Martha ran off back to her vacation home with a skip in her step and a big smile on her face, excited for what tomorrow would bring. The Grinch watched as the little girl vanished from view; Max nuzzled his head against Grinch's leg.

"I know, Max. She's a good kid." Grinch said with a soft sigh. He turned around in the direction of Mt. Crumpit with Max trotting after him. "I think it's just about dinnertime for us too, Max. I am starving."

Max barked and wagged his tail, as if to say, 'You and me both.'


	8. Making a Deal

Martha woke up bright and early the next morning; today was the day the results for the Christmas Pageant would be posted. She was beyond ecstatic. She got up, got dressed, brushed her teeth and hair, ate a quick breakfast and rode down to the school as fast as she could. By the time she got there, Donna and Tina were waiting for her.

"Martha!" They cried.

"Hey, girls. What are you doing here?" Martha asked as she tied her sled to the bike rack just like she did the day before.

"We just wanted to be here for you when you look at the casting roster for the pageant." Tina replied.

"And don't worry, we're here for you." Donna added.

"Oh, thanks, you guys." Martha beamed before she saw Mr. Welltether exit the school. He turned around and smiled at the girls.

"Hello, Martha May. Hello, Donna, Tina. I was just on my way out." He said with a smile.

"Hi, Mr. Welltether." Martha said. "Where the cast list?"

"I just posted it near the auditorium doors. Go right on ahead." Mr. Welltether said as Martha opened the door to go inside. "Oh, and Martha?" She turned to look at him and he gave her a wink. "Rehearsals start tomorrow at 11:00 am and the show is on Christmas Eve night." And he walked away, leaving Martha and her friends in a state of slight confusion.

She didn't think too much of it and went inside with Donna and Tina right behind her. And there was the list, right smack in the middle of the bulletin board. It was too high for her to read, so Martha went over, grabbed a chair sitting in the hall, pushed it up to the board, and climbed it so she could get a better view. Donna and Tina stood below, watched with baited breath.

"So? What do you see?" Donna asked.

"Did you get in?" Tina added.

"I don't know yet, gimme a sec." Martha said as she scrolled through the different names and roles until finally, she found her name… and she was cast as the Sugar Plum Fairy from the Nutcracker. She gasped.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Her friends said.

"I'm the Sugar Plum Fairy… I'M THE SUGAR PLUM FAIRY!" Martha cried in excitement; she jumped down from the chair and her friends hugged her as all three of them squealed in delight. "I got in, I got in, I got in!"

"That's amazing, Martha!" Donna cried.

"Congratulations!" Tina exclaimed.

Suddenly, Martha remembered those bullies from last night and she went quiet. Tina quickly took notice.

"Something wrong, Martha?" She asked.

"Huh? Oh, no. It's nothing." Martha lied, but Tina knew something was up.

"Come on, what's wrong?" Tina asked.

Martha sighed. "Okay, fine. Last night while I was at the lake, your friends came up to me with a few older kids… and they started to bully me. They said I shouldn't have auditioned for the pageant and that I should back out. Your friends also said that Donna and I stole you from them."

Tina's eyes widened in surprise at this; she knew Tessie, Terri, Trevor, and Travis weren't the nicest Whos in town, but she didn't think they'd bully someone on their own, especially with that group of older kids. "I… I'm sorry, Martha. Why don't I try and talk to them?"

"You'd do that?"

"Of course. They'll listen to me; maybe I can get them to stop."

"And what if they don't?"

"If they don't, then… then I guess I'll just have to cut myself off from them and never talk to them again."

"What?"

"Yeah. I can't be friends with people who would bully someone just because they want to. Like I said, I want to be friends with you and Donna, Martha. And I'd personally choose playing with you than bullying others with them any day."

Donna stood in shock. "Wow, that's… that's really brave of you, Tina."

"Thanks." Tina said. "I'll go find them and talk to them right now. I'm sure we can sort this out. And if not then… c'est la vie."

"What does that mean?" Donna asked.

"I think it means… 'That's life', I don't know. I'll see you girls later." Tina replied before she ran off to find her old friends.

"That's really mature of Tina to do something like that." Donna commented.

"Yeah." Martha replied as they walked out of the school; she went over to her sled and untied it from the rack. "She's willing to give up her old friends to stay with us."

"…But it's still kinda weird."

"How so?"

"Well, for as long as I can remember, I've only ever seen her as a bully who always picked on me and my other friends for no reason. But now that I think about it, I'm starting to believe that Tessie, Terri, Travis, and Trevor weren't really a positive influence."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean maybe while they were still friends, they were all telling her to do these awful things because they think it'd make them look cool and they weren't very good friends to her at all."

Martha shot up at the mention of 'friend'. She looked back and Donna and said, "Hey, speaking of friends, I… kinda have an engagement later today at 2:45 pm."

"Engagement?" Donna asked.

"Yeah. You know, a play date."

"With who?"

"…with Mr. Grinch."

"Mr. _Grinch_?"

"Yeah. That's the part of the bully story I left out. You see, when those kids were pushing me around, Mr. Grinch came up out of nowhere and he told them to leave me alone… before chasing them away and saying he was going to take them up to his cave and gobble them all up for supper."

"Wow. He did that?"

"Yeah, he did."

"But… isn't he a hobo?"

"No one is perfect."

"But you can't be too careful, Martha. You never know what he might do."

"Yeah, but after the bullies left… he helped me onto my feet and sat with me for a bit. And we just… talked. It was nice. And besides, I really think he needs another friend. For so long, he's only had his dog and… I don't know. And if he needs a friend, then I want to be that friend."

Donna paused. "…That's beautiful."

"And I really mean it, you know."

"…I know you do. Well, good luck. And have fun."

"Thanks. I'll see you around. Bye, Donna."

"Bye."

Martha then hopped on her sled and rode off, leaving Donna alone with her thoughts. Martha told her parents that she got in as the Sugar Plum Fairy and they were very proud of her, but she didn't mention meeting up with the Grinch later that afternoon. She didn't want to get into any trouble for going off to see a stranger, so she decided to keep her potential friendship with the Grinch a secret.

It was almost 2:00 and Martha needed to get ready. She packed some snacks, grabbed her new skates, and put on her winter clothes, but just as she was about to head out the door, her father stopped her.

"And where are you going?" Mortimer asked.

"Down to the lake." Martha replied.

"The lake, eh? Any particular reason?"

"To… practice my ice skating. Rehearsals for the pageant start tomorrow, you know. And I just want to be ready. You know what they say; practice makes perfect."

"Yes, of course. Well, okay. Have fun. But be sure to get back here by about 7:00 pm, okay?"

"Sure thing, daddy. See you later."

"Don't dilly dally on your way back. And don't hurt yourself either."

"Got it."

Martha jumped onto her sled and rode down the snowy streets and paths until she made it to the other side of the lake, which was closer to Mt. Crumpit. She checked her watch to see that it was a few minutes until 2:45; she was a little early. After a few minutes of waiting, she heard footsteps approach. Martha turned around, expecting to see the Grinch, but there was no one there… except for Max trotting over to her. She smiled as she walked over to him and affectionately scratched his head.

"Hi, Max." She said. "Where's Mr. Grinch? Is he not coming?"

"Pssst!" A voice hissed.

Martha and Max shot up and looked around, but no one else was around. Then Martha spotted something behind a nearby tree… and it was bright green. She smirked and stood up.

"Oh my! What was that?" Martha said, pretending to be surprised. "Could it be a squirrel? Or a rabbit?" She snuck closer to the tree as she tried to contain her laughter. "Or maybe it's… huh?" She looked behind the tree, but there was nothing there.

"Boo!" A voice shouted; Martha yelped and jumped in surprise as a pair of hands grabbed her by the shoulders.

Martha quickly turned around to see the Grinch leaning against the trunk of the tree, laughing his small heart out. She frowned and folded her arms.

"Not funny, Mr. Grinch." She said, trying to hide a smile.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist." Grinch said, calming down.

"Hahaha, I get it." Martha rolled her eyes.

"But I'm glad you could make it. Sorry if I'm late."

"No, don't worry. I'm early."

"Did you have to sneak out?"

"No, I just told my dad I was going to the lake and walked out the door."

"That easy, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I also told him that I needed to practice my skating."

"Practice, huh? …I'm assuming you got a part in the pageant?"

"Yeah, I'm the Sugar Plum Fairy from the Nutcracker."

"Nice! And you're going to practice?"

"Yep."

"Well… let's see what you can do."

Martha smiled at him as she laced up her skates. Then she made her way onto the ice and the moment she did, Martha gave a performance similar to the one she gave at the audition. The Grinch and Max watched as the little girl twirled, strode, leaped, and jumped while maintaining her grace and balance; she looked like she was dancing on the ice. Martha finished her routine with a few spins and a ballerina pose. The Grinch stared at Martha in shock before he started to clap his hands like mad and scream, laugh, and cheer for her; Max happily barked and jumped up in down as if to applaud. She smiled and gave a curtsy before she strode bank to the edge of the lake. She sat down in the snow and took off her skates, breathing heavily.

"Where did _that_ come from?" Grinch asked.

"What?" Martha asked, putting her boots back on.

"That! Back there, on the ice! That was amazing! How'd you learn to move like that?"

"Well, I've been skating since I was five and thanks to the weekly lessons back in Who York, I've been getting better and better."

"Wow. Have you ever considered a career in figure skating? If you're lucky, you could even end up in the big leagues."

"That sounds awesome, but skating is just a hobby for me. What I really want to do is become a teacher."

"A _teacher_?"

"Yeah. I play school with a few friends back in Who York on occasion and I always end up playing the teacher. I know it'll be a lot of hard work, but I'm willing to commit. When I get big, I'm going to learn all that I can about teaching and hopefully, I'll make a good impression on any future students and I'll be the best teacher I can be."

Grinch smirked. "Good for you, kid." He then noticed the basket sitting on Martha's sled. "What's in the basket?"

"Oh, that? Nothing special." Martha said as she opened the basket. "I just thought I'd bring a few snacks, just in case."

"Whatcha got in there?"

"Just a few things like baby carrots, grapes, pretzels, a couple PBJ sandwiches, a few juice boxes, and some cookies. I even have some dog treats for Max." Max instantly lit up at the mention of 'dog treats'. "I honestly didn't know what you liked to eat, so I just decided to improvise."

"Do you even know what improvise means?"

"My mom and dad say that word all the time. I think it means to make it up as you go along… right?"

"Eh, close enough." He went over to the basket and dug through it before pulling out one of the PBJ sandwiches. "I see you cut the sandwiches into triangles."

"My mom helped me cut them." Martha took out another sandwich and a dog treat, which she tossed over to Max and he instantly caught it and ate it up. She giggled.

"You might wanna take it easy with those treats." Grinch commented, taking a big bite out of his sandwich. "Max needs to stay in shape, you know."

"My parents want me to be healthy too, which makes sense especially since I need my energy for the pageant."

"Right, right."

Martha took a bite from her sandwich. "Have _you_ ever ice skated?"

"Me? Oh, not in a long time. I tried once… it didn't end well."

"Oh."

"Yep. Let's just say that when I first stepped onto the ice, I ended up with a broken leg, a cast that itched like sandpaper underpants, and crutches as my only mode of transportation."

Martha's expression softened before she had an idea. "Well, when I first started to skate, I was really scared and I slipped on my first try. But my teacher got me to try again and after that, I wasn't scared anymore and now I love skating. Maybe if _you_ try it again, it won't be so scary."

"You want me to try and skate again?" The Grinch asked in shock, nearly choking on his bite of sandwich.

"Think of it as private lessons, just you and me. And _I'll_ be your instructor. After pageant rehearsals, we could meet up here and I'll teach you everything I know. Come on. What do you say, friend?" Martha smiled and held out her hand to him, hoping he'd take it.

Grinch sighed. "Look, kid; we may be nice to each other, but that doesn't necessarily make us friends."

Martha was persistent. "Aw, come on, pal! You son of a gun! Come on, buddy! Let's shake on it! Oh come on, ol' chum! Mr. Grinch, my man! My main man!"

A few moments of silence passed. Grinch glanced over at Martha with her arm still stretched out to him. "You really wanna do this for me?"

She nodded. "Yes. Plus, my arm's getting tired. Do we have a deal or not?"

The Grinch scratched his head and looked at Max for an answer; the puppy only gave him a quick nod. He sighed in defeat and turned back to Martha. "You'd better keep your word."

"I promise."

"Same time tomorrow?"

"Depends on how long rehearsals are."

"Good point… It's a deal."

They shook hands.


	9. Skating Together

For the next several days, Martha May was skating nonstop. She went to every single rehearsal for the Christmas pageant and worked very hard to learn the moves, which she learned very quickly. She would skate her little heart out and afterwards, she would go straight to the lake and meet up with the Grinch where she taught him almost every skating trick and technique she knew. It was a little difficult for him to learn and he would often lose his balance and slip, but with a little patience and effort, he slowly got better.

"One, two, three. One, two, three." The Grinch said to himself as he practicing skating on one foot at a time. "One, two, three. One, two, three! One, two, three! I think I got it!"

"You're doing GREAT! Keep it up!" Martha cheered as she watched on the lake's edge; Max was standing next to her and barking happily. "Now go for a jump! But take it nice and slow. You don't wanna hurt yourself."

"Okay!" The Grinch replied before taking a stance. He attempted to jump, but he slipped and nearly skidded into a tree; luckily, he made a sharp turn and stopped himself. He looked back at Martha with an embarrassed look on his face before slowly skating back over to her; he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. "Sorry."

"No, don't be." Martha said. "It was a good try; still better than the first time. Why don't we take a little break and have a snack?"

"Okay." He shrugged and sat down in the snow as Martha took a few things out of her basket; she gently tossed a couple dog biscuits to Max and handed the Grinch an apple. "Thanks."

"No prob." Martha said as she took out and peeled an orange; she popped a slice into her mouth as she sat beside the Grinch.

"Do you really think I'm getting better?" He asked, taking a bite out of his apple.

"Yeah, of course. And I must say, you picked up a few moves pretty quickly."

"Well, you're a good teacher."

Martha smiled. " _You're_ a good student."

They laughed. "You know, in all my years, I never thought a little girl three times shorter than me could teach me how to skate… or anything else, for that matter."

"I get it. And _I_ never thought I'd get to teach ice skating basics to a grown up… whatever you are. No offense."

"None taken. I'm used to it."

"And it doesn't bother you?"

"Nah, not really. At least not like it used to."

"When you were still in school?"

"Yep."

"I can only imagine how hard it would be, not feeling like you belong anywhere. Always feeling so lonely and lost, not really knowing who you really are or what you're meant to do; that must be so sad."

Grinch paused. "…Yeah. I guess it is."

Martha looked at him and scooted closer. "Sorry if I got a little too deep."

"No, it's okay. Personally, I'd rather be sitting right here than in some tiny uncomfortable desk back at school any day."

"How come?"

"For one thing, I won't have to deal with the disruptive and obnoxious students. Second, none of the teachers would give me attitude if I ask a question about something I don't understand. And third, I get to spend all of my free time with Max… and _you_."

"Me?"

"Well, yeah. Ever since you came along… I don't think I've ever felt so comfortable around anybody in my life."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm just trying to say that… that… that I see you as a…" The Grinch paused and scratched his chin in thought.

"You see me as a what?" Martha asked, a tad bit annoyed.

"Hold on, gimme a second. I'm trying to find the right word."

"What wor—?"

"No, no, no wait! I can remember, don't tell me. Come on, Grinchy. It's on the tip of my tongue; it starts with 'fr'. French fries? No. French horn? No, no. Ugh, what is that word?"

"Is it… _friend_?"

The Grinch paused and looked at Martha with wide eyes. He slowly nodded his head at her. "…Yes."

Martha gave him the same surprised look. "You really think of me as a friend?"

"I, uh… huh, I suppose I do." He unconsciously took another bite from his apple.

The little redhead ate another orange slice. Max stared at the pair in shock; did he hear right or did the Grinch just say he had another friend? The puppy sat down in between the Grinch and Martha and rubbed his head against his master's green fur; the Grinch petted the dog's head and smiled down at him.

"I just hope Max here won't get jealous." He joked.

Martha giggled and gently rubbed Max's back. "Don't worry, Max. No matter what, I could _never_ replace you." The puppy barked and licked the girl's face in response.

Suddenly, the sky grew slightly darker. Street lamps were lit and it started to snow. Martha stared in wonder.

"How beautiful." She sighed before glancing back at the Grinch and standing up; she threw away the orange peels. "You wanna go back onto the ice? I could teach you another move or two."

"Why not?" The Grinch threw his apple core into a trashcan and stood up. "Lead the way, teach."

Martha took his hand and carefully led him back onto the frozen lake. She taught him how to do a spin. He stumbled a little at first, but he eventually got the hang of it and he could now do more than one spin, almost six in a row. Martha grinned and clapped her hands as Max barked and jumped up and down on the lake's edge.

"Wow, great job!" She cheered.

"I'm a fast learner." The Grinch chuckled before getting an idea. "You wanna dance?"

"Dance? On the ice?"

"Well, as best as we can. But I get it if you don't want to, I just thought—"

"No, I didn't say that. I mean… I'd like that."

The Grinch took Martha's hand and they strode across the ice, making graceful poses and moves all the while. Max sat on the sidelines watched the pair of them with wide eyes as the snow continued to fall. As they skated, Martha and the Grinch talked.

"I may be getting better, but I don't think I'll ever catch up to _your_ level." Grinch said.

"Don't say that. There are _loads_ of other people in the world who are _way_ better than me, even a few kids in the pageant." Martha replied before she thought of something. "Would I see you in the audience?"

"At the pageant? Oh, I don't know. I don't think I could even afford a ticket."

"Tickets are free."

"Really?"

"Yeah. According to Mr. Welltether, it's a free school function. You should come."

"I don't think so, kid. Social gatherings like that aren't really my thing, especially during Christmas. Besides, everyone in town is _afraid_ of me, remember?"

"Oh yeah… But what if you go in disguise? Dress up so nobody would recognize you."

"…I'll think about it, okay?"

"Okay. Sorry for putting any pressure on you."

"It's okay."

Martha's watch beeped and they both stopped. "Oh man, I'd better be getting home!"

"Oh, okay. I'll see you tomorrow?" The Grinch asked.

"Yep." Martha packed up her basket, took off her skates, put her boots back on, and grabbed her sled. "Oh! One more thing before I go. If you do decide to go to the pageant, it's on Christmas Eve, which is in three days, it's held in the school's ice rink, and it starts at 7:00 pm."

"Okay. I'll keep that in mind."

"Promise?" She held out her pinky finger to him.

He smiled and hooked his pinky onto hers. "Promise."


	10. The Christmas Pageant

It was Christmas Eve and the day of the pageant; everyone in town was bussing about to make sure everything was perfect, not only for the pageant but for Christmas Day as well. It was only an hour and a half until the show and Martha was excited and nervous all at the same time; Felicity styled her hair, did her makeup, and even helped her with her costume. Martha and her parents had a quick dinner and they were off to the school. When she got there, the entire cast and crew was running around getting everything ready for the show.

"Okay, sweetie. We'll see you soon." Felicity beamed.

"Break a leg out there, my little superstar." Mortimer kissed Martha's forehead before he and his wife made their way out of the room to find their seats.

Martha looked around and saw Mr. Welltether approach her. He smiled at her and said, "There you are, Martha. You look great. Come on, it's almost time to start."

"Right behind you." The little girl said with a grin; the teacher took her hand and led her to a group of girls who were playing her fellow fairies.

'I hope I'll see you tonight, Mr. Grinch.'

0-0-0-0-0-0

Meanwhile up on Mt. Crumpit, the Grinch was pacing the floor of his room while Max was lying on the bed and watching him. He was trying to figure out if he should just stay in his cave like he always does, or go down to Whoville and watch Martha May perform in the pageant.

"The pageant is tonight. Martha is expecting to see me there. I don't want to let her down, but I don't want to be run out of town by an angry mob either." He said. "What do I do? Should I go? Should I stay here? What should I do, Max?"

The puppy cocked his head to the side, unsure of how to answer. Then the Grinch remembered something Martha said a few nights ago; he could go to the pageant in disguise. It was a fairly good idea, but what would he wear? It had to be subtle and sophisticated; something ingenious, yet not obvious at the same time. He needed a disguise that could help him blend into crowds with ease. He went to his closest and quickly rummaged through it, but there was nothing but his trousers on hangers inside. He groaned, putting his hands to his head.

"Ugh, this is ridiculous!" He whined. "If I can't find a decent disguise, I'm not going! …But I can't disappoint Martha! She'll be heartbroken! What am I gonna do, Max?! …Max? Max, where'd you go?"

Max suddenly came running back to his master with something in his teeth; it was a brown fabric. The Grinch took the fabric and held it up, realizing that it was a hooded cloak. He looked at his companion.

"Where did you find this?"

Max turned his head to the closet and a dirty white box lay open in front of it.

The Grinch looked at the cloak in his hands again and slowly smiled. "…This is PERFECT!" He hurriedly put the cloak over his head before heading over to the mirror; he was completely covered from head to toe. "Wow, look at me! Nobody will know who I am in this! Thanks, Max!" He grabbed a black scarf, tied it around his neck, and drew the hood. "Let's go, Max. We have a pageant to see."

Max barked and followed his master out the door and down the mountain.

"I just hope we aren't too late." Grinch muttered as he walked through the snow; he adjusted his scarf so that it covered his mouth.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, hello and good evening everyone! It is my great honor to welcome you all to our show of shows!" Mr. Welltether announced into a microphone. "Before we begin, I just want to wish you all a very merry Christmas. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy our production of The Nutcracker on Ice!"

The crowd applauded and the show began.

Martha silently watched the pageant unfold from behind the curtains that concealed the backstage area. She eagerly waited in the wings to go on, but she knew she had to wait until the second act. As she waited, she grew more and more excited… as well as nervous. She thought the butterflies in her tummy would burst out of her any second now. And eventually, it was time for the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The music gradually started, Martha adjusted her pigtails, brushed the skirt of her tutu, took a deep breath, went out onto the ice, and began her dance. As she skated, she did every step perfectly; she spun, leaped, and twirled with such grace that she could've been walking on air. She finished on the last note and everyone applauded before some more members of the cast joined and did their own respective dances for Marie and the Nutcracker Prince.

As the show went on, the Grinch had finally made it to the school. But as he was looking around for the ice rink entrance, he got lost and ended up somewhere near the backstage area just when Martha May's big number was about to come up: the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier Pas de Deux. Martha confidently strode out onto the ice and began; the Grinch peeked his head out from behind the curtain while remaining out of sight. The music began to play and Martha skated and danced just as beautifully as she did before, but she quickly realized that she was alone on the ice and the boy who was supposed to play her cavalier was nowhere to be seen. She curiously looked around, only to see him throwing up into a trash can in the backstage area; Mr. Welltether was standing beside him.

'What?! No! What is Bert doing? He can't get sick now!' Martha thought as she started to panic.

From his hiding spot, the Grinch quickly took notice of Martha's change of mood and soon, he saw that she was starting to fumble. He started to panic as well.

"Oh no, she's in trouble. I've gotta do something… but what?" He whispered as he looked around; he saw a spare costume, a hat, and a pair of skates hanging on a clothing rack in another corner and got an idea.

By now, Martha had started to cry as she continued to skate, but she held in her tears as best she could. But just as she was about to break down, she felt someone pick her up off of the ice. She and the crowd gasped in surprise; what was going on? Martha looked up and saw the Grinch dressed as the Cavalier. She smiled and silently gasped at him.

"Mr. Grinch? What are you—?" She asked before he shushed her; he put her back onto the ice and wiped away her tears.

"What do you say we do this Pas de Deux together?" He asked, taking her hands in his.

"Together?"

"Together."

"…Okay. Let's do it."

They smiled and nodded at each other before they started to dance, just like they did during their daily lessons together. The audience didn't really know what was going on but at the same time, they didn't seem to care; the two figures out on the ice were fantastic and they couldn't turn away. Their movements were graceful and perfectly synchronized and they both seemed to move as one. And at one point, the Grinch did a perfect jump while Martha followed with a midair twirl. The music came to a close and Martha and the Grinch finished with a dramatic pose, which made the audience roar, clap, and cheer in applause.

Soon enough, the rest of the cast including Marie and the Prince, joined Martha and the Grinch in a beautiful, grand finale; the Grinch was so caught up in the dancing that he didn't even feel self-conscious about being the tallest one there. The music ended, the dancing stopped, and everything faded to darkness. The audience clapped and cheered as everyone took a bow, even the Grinch. He looked at Martha who was holding his hand and standing right beside him; she smiled and silently thanked him for everything.

In the cafeteria, Felicity and Mortimer were showering their daughter with hugs and kisses as well as congratulations for her performance.

"That was fantastic, sweetie!" Felicity beamed.

"My little star!" Mortimer proudly exclaimed.

"Thanks, you guys." Martha said bashfully.

"Oh! We need pictures!" Felicity said, taking Martha's camera out of her purse. Mortimer got closer to his daughter before his wife snapped a photo. She gave the camera to Martha. "Here you go, honey. Go get some more photos for your scrapbook."

"Thanks, mom. I'm gonna go find my friends. See ya guys later." Martha said as she ran off in search of her friends.

"Martha!" Tina and Donna's voices cried out.

Martha turned around and smiled to see Donna and Tina running over to her with big smiles on their faces. They squealed in delight and hugged her tight; she hugged them back.

"Martha, you were amazing!" Donna exclaimed.

"Yeah, we loved it!" Tina cried.

"Thanks, girls." Martha grinned.

Donna looked behind her and her face lit up at Martha. "Don't look now, but a certain someone is coming this way."

Martha smiled before she felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned around to see the Grinch still wearing the costume he borrowed. She grinned up at him; he gave her a tiny embarrassed smile before he took her hand and led her out of the cafeteria and into the foyer where nobody could see them, Tina and Donna followed after them.

"Mr. Grinch, I can't believe you did that!" Martha cried.

"What?" Grinch asked innocently.

"That performance! During the pageant! You were GREAT!" Donna exclaimed.

"Where'd you learn how to skate like that, Mr. Grinch?" Tina asked.

"Well… ask her." The Grinch replied, gesturing towards Martha.

Donna and Tina looked at their friend with wide eyes. Martha gave them a playful shrug, followed by a smirk.

"I've been giving him private lessons, okay?" She said. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing at all, dear." A new voice said.

The group turned their heads to the door to see a woman with red hair and wearing a magenta dress approach them. Martha lit up at the woman.

"Auntie Azalea!" She exclaimed, giving the woman a hug.

"Martha May! How's my favorite niece today?" The woman said with a big smile.

"I'm good!" Martha said.

"Hi, Miss McGerkle." Donna and Tina greeted.

"Tina, Donna. Nice to see you girls." Miss McGerkle said before she noticed the Grinch giving her a nervous grin. "Martha, is this the _mysterious_ friend I heard about?"

The Grinch tensed up at this statement. "Y-y-y-you've heard of m-m-me?"

Miss McGerkle stopped hugging Martha and walked over to the disguised Grinch. "Yes. Well, only once or twice. And I think my niece teaching you how to ice skate is a very kind thing to do. How did you two meet, if I may ask?"

Martha and the Grinch froze and looked at each other in silence, unsure of what to say to that. They couldn't tell her about the incident on Mt. Crumpit, they just couldn't. What would Felicity and Mortimer think? What would the rest of Whoville think? Donna and Tina noticed their worried expressions and quickly took action.

"Hey, how about we take a few pictures?" Donna said, giving Martha back her camera.

"For Martha's scrapbook! Right, Martha?" Tina added.

"Oh yeah! Yeah, of course! We need pictures, _lots_ of them. You don't mind, do you auntie?" Martha asked, handing Miss McGerkle the camera.

"Of course not." Miss McGerkle said. "Martha, how about a few with Tina and Donna?"

"Okay, auntie."

Martha put her arms around her friends' shoulders and all three of them grinned as the camera flashed. Then Martha took one with Donna and another with Tina. The three girls giggled as they looked at the pictures; Martha looked at the Grinch.

"What about some photos of me and Mr. Grinch?" Martha asked her aunt.

"Oh yeah. We can't leave him out." Tina said.

"He was a real big help." Donna added.

"Mr. Grinch? Very well, Martha dear." Miss McGerkle said.

"What? Oh, no thanks. I'm camera shy." The Grinch said with a nervous grin.

"Come on, just a couple pictures? Pretty, pretty please?" Martha asked with big pleading puppy-dog eyes.

"Did Max teach you puppy eyes?" The Grinch asked. After a moment of silence, he finally relented. "Fine, just a couple."

The little girl grinned as the Grinch picked her up. Miss McGerkle aimed the camera, told them to give her big smiles, and snapped the picture.

"One more?" Miss McGerkle asked.

Martha looked at the Grinch, who said, "Fine, one more."

They took another picture before Martha was set back down onto the floor. She looked up at the Grinch and smiled up at him before she gave him one of the pictures. It was the photo they just took; Martha was in the Grinch's arms and they were both smiling.

"Here you go." She said.

"But… don't you want this?" Grinch asked.

"That's why we took _two_ pictures, silly. So we can each have one." She held up the other picture of them together. He smiled at her before Miss McGerkle took her niece's hand.

"Sorry dear, but I think it's time to head back. Your parents are probably wondering where you are by now. It's Christmas Eve, you know." She said.

"Okay, auntie Azalea. Bye, Mr. Grinch." Martha said before she, her aunt, and her friends walked back into the cafeteria.

"…Bye." Grinch said as Max went up to his master.

"That was a very brave thing you did back there." A deep voice said.

The Grinch quickly turned around to see Mr. Welltether calmly walking towards him; he was carrying the Grinch's cloak and scarf. He froze.

"You saw that?" The Grinch asked.

"I did… and it was very impressive, Grinch. Did Martha May really teach you how to skate?" Mr. Welltether asked.

The Grinch paused before nodding his head. "Yes."

He took the scarf and cloak before taking off the costume and skates giving then to the teacher in front of him.

"How long has this been going on for?" Welltether questioned.

"The past few days or so. Why?" Grinch replied.

"I knew it was you looking after those girls that night."

"What gave it away?"

"While you were wearing all of that snow gear as a disguise, I noticed you were panting and sweating like crazy, either because you were afraid of getting caught or because of your fur and you were possibly overheating. I figured the latter was most likely."

"Yeah, that jacket was pretty hot. But I didn't want Martha or her friends to get into trouble."

Welltether paused before he and the Grinch turned their attention to the cafeteria entrance where they could see Martha talking and laughing with her family.

"You really do care for that little girl, don't you Grinch?" Welltether asked

"I… huh, I guess I do. But what can I say, Welltether? She's… different." Grinch said.

"Different is good. And I'm glad to see you make friends with her."

"It won't last long, though. She and her folks are leaving the day after Christmas."

"So she really is just visiting."

"Yep."

Max sadly whimpered at that response. The Grinch bent down and scratched the puppy's head in response.

"I know, Max. I know you're gonna miss her when she's gone." He said solemnly.

"You'll miss her, too." Welltether said.

Grinch froze. "Well, uh… so what if I will? …She's not gonna miss me."

"Are you kidding? From what I've seen, she adores you and she'll miss you very much."

"But… what should I do?"

"Give her a gift."

"A gift? But… what kind of gift? All of the shops in town are probably closed by now and I didn't bring any money with me."

"Then be creative. You were probably the _most_ creative student this school has ever seen. Make her a gift; I know you're perfectly capable of it. Unless you're afraid she won't like it."

Grinch scoffed. "Oh, please Sven. Don't stoop to reverse psychology. You're better than that."

"It never hurts to try."

"Consider it considered."

And with that, Mr. Welltether walked away, leaving the Grinch and Max alone with their thoughts. Grinch looked at his dog for any guidance, only to be met with a slight shake of the head in confusion.

"Be creative, be creative…" He said to himself as he and Max made their way to the school's exit; he put his scarf and cloak back on.

As he walked through the snowy streets of Whoville, he took a quick look at the enormous Christmas tree at the center of town. It was bright and colorful and there was a beautiful angel sitting on the very top. As he stared at the angel, he got an idea.

"I think I've got it. I know what to give Martha!" He said before picking Max up and looking him straight in the eye; he smiled a rather sinister smile. "Max, it's time to get a little _crafty_."


	11. Christmas Eve Night

After doing some caroling around town and having a big delicious dinner, Martha was getting ready for bed… for there was only one more sleep until Christmas Day. She brushed her teeth, put on her favorite green nightdress, and pulled her long, fiery red hair up into a ponytail just as her mother and father peeked their heads into the room.

"So, do you have any last-minute wishes for Santa?" Felicity asked, smiling at her daughter staring out the window.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Martha said before she snuggled under her covers. "I have a pretty big wish."

"Good." Mortimer said, approaching the bed. "You deserve everything you want and more."

"Thanks, mom and dad. So do you."

Mortimer sat on the edge of Martha's bed and smiled at her; Felicity sat beside him. "How did I end up with such a wonderful daughter?"

"I don't know. Sometimes you just get lucky like that." The little girl said as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Then we really did." Felicity beamed.

"Me too. I love you." Martha said, hugging her parents.

"We love you, too." Felicity and Mortimer each gave their daughter a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight, sweetie."

"Goodnight."

The couple stood up, headed for the door, switched off the lights, and left, leaving Martha all by herself. After waiting for a few moments, Martha sat up in bed and stared out at Mt. Crumpit through the window. She held the photo of her and the Grinch.

"I hope you get everything you want for Christmas, Mr. Grinch." She whispered, holding the picture close and laying back down; her eyelids fluttered closed and eventually, she fell asleep.

Martha suddenly woke up and she didn't know why. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes before taking a glance at the clock sitting on her nightstand; it was about 1:15 in the morning. How and why was she awake at this hour? When she let out a yawn and put her favorite red slippers on, her throat felt dry and she decided to go downstairs and get something to drink. Being as quiet as a mouse, she snuck out of her room, tiptoed down the hall, past her parents' room, down the stairs, and made her way to the kitchen. Luckily, she wasn't afraid of the dark. She then poured herself a glass of milk but just as she took a sip, she heard a strange noise coming from the other room and she froze.

'What was that?' She thought, nearly dropping her glass.

Martha slowly tiptoed towards the sound, which she discovered was coming from the living room. She carefully peeked into the living room and what she saw made her heart skip a beat. She saw a large figure dressed in red digging through what looked like a sack and the figure seemed to be laying presents underneath their Christmas tree… this was the one and only Santa Claus. Martha May could hardly believe it; he was real, he was really REAL. She watched as the icon of Christmas gently laid beautifully wrapped presents underneath the tree and stuffed the three stockings hanging over the fireplace with all kinds of sweets and goodies.

Suddenly, Martha felt a tickle in her nose. Panicking, she tried to hold her breath but it was all in vain. She let out a tiny sneeze, which quickly caught Santa's attention. The girl froze and her heart dropped into her stomach; she looked and made eye contact with Santa Claus himself. After a long moment of awkward silence, Martha finally spoke up.

"Um, hello." She nervously said.

"Hello." Santa said in a calm, gentle voice. "It's okay, don't be shy. Come here."

Reluctantly, Martha headed into the living room and walked towards the jolly old man. She stopped a few feet in front of him and stood straight, setting her glass of milk down and brushing her nightdress. She gave him a nervous grin before Santa gave a laugh.

"Don't be afraid, Martha May. I won't hurt you." He said.

"You… you know my name?"

Santa chuckled. "Why, of course. I know all of the good boys and girls of the world and you, Martha May, have been on the Nice List for many years."

"I have?"

"Yes, you have."

"Wow!" She paused. "…But I don't know if I deserve to be on the Nice List."

Santa looked surprised; he sat down on the sofa and carefully set Martha on to his lap. "Why ever not?"

"Well… I've done a few not-so-nice things while I was here. I lied to my parents, I had a sleepover without their permission… and I even went up to Mt. Crumpit in the middle of the night." Martha admitted.

"But that's okay, dear. Everyone does naughty things and misbehaves sometimes; some just do that more than others." Santa explained. "But from what I've seen while you were here, you've been nothing but good as gold, still the kindhearted little Who you've always been."

Martha smiled and gave the holiday figure a big hug; he hugged her back. "Thank you, Santa."

"You're welcome."

Martha suddenly remembered something. "Oh, Santa? Before you go, can you do me a favor?"

"If you're asking for a picture, I'm afraid I can't—"

"No, no, it's not that. It's, well… don't forget the Grinch."

Santa paused and looked at Martha with wide eyes. "The Grinch? You know the Grinch?"

"Yeah, I do. He and I met the first day I was here. That's why I was up on Mt. Crumpit."

Martha told Santa everything about how she met the Grinch and everything they did together; she even told him about the Christmas Pageant and what he did to help her. Santa listened to every word and nodded his head many times, meaning he understood.

"And, that's about it." Martha said. "I know Mr. Grinch can be mean and surly and nasty at times and he might hate Christmas and all, but… just because he's different doesn't mean he shouldn't get a present on Christmas. And I think he's actually kind of _sweet_."

"You think he's sweet?" Santa asked.

"Yeah. Besides, he's done so many nice things for me already and I just want him to be happy."

"You really want Mr. Grinch to be happy?"

"Of course I do. You're Santa, you make people happy. And everyone should be happy at Christmas, right?"

"…You're right. Everyone should be happy at Christmas and I would love to help, but…"

"But what?"

"But I'm sorry to say that Mr. Grinch has been on my Naughty List for quite some time."

Martha was shocked. "So… he won't be getting a present?"

"I'm afraid so."

"That's terrible!"

"Yes, I suppose it is. But if you really want Mr. Grinch to be happy, then maybe _you_ should do something about it."

Martha then paused and thought long and hard about what Santa had said. Then she brightened up. "You're right! I should do something. He's already done so many nice things for me; _I_ oughta do something nice for _him_."

"That's the spirit." Santa set Martha back down onto the floor and stood up; he took the cookies that were sitting on the coffee table. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do."

"Oh, right. I'm so sorry for keeping you here longer than you should." Martha said, offering her glass of milk to him.

"That's quite alright. And don't worry; I know you'll think of something." Santa took the glass and gulped down the milk after he finished the cookies.

"Thanks, Santa." Martha said. "And do you think you can stop by Mr. Grinch's cave and wish him a Merry Christmas for me? It would mean a lot to me if you did."

"Don't worry, Martha. I'll tell him." Santa said before the little girl giggled and gave him another hug.

"Thank you again, Santa." Martha said.

"You're very welcome." Santa said, grabbing his sack of toys and heading over to the chimney. "Goodnight and merry Christmas."

And with that, he disappeared up the chimney, leaving Martha alone once again.

"Goodnight." Martha whispered with a tiny wave. She took a look at the gifts underneath the tree and got an idea.


	12. Christmas Day

"Martha! Martha May, wake up!" Felicity's voice called from downstairs. "It's Christmas!"

Martha was sprawled on her bed, sound asleep. Her father's video camera was sitting on the tripod in front of her bed; luckily, it was turned off. She was so tired that she didn't even hear the door to her bedroom open. Her father chuckled.

"What are you still doing in bed, sleepy head?" Mortimer said as he picked up his daughter. "It's time to wake up."

Martha yawned and groaned. "No, dad. I don't wanna go to school. Five more minutes, please?"

"It's not school; it's Christmas Day." Mortimer said as he carried Martha down the stairs.

Martha's eyes suddenly flew open at the mention of Christmas. As soon as they made it to the first floor, she hopped out of her father's arms and ran straight to the living room. There, she got a better view of the gifts Santa Claus had left the night before and she gasped.

"Whoa!" She exclaimed.

"And they're all for _you_ , princess." Felicity said as she sat on the sofa.

Martha grinned and kneeled in front of the Christmas tree, in search of the perfect present to open first. It was rather difficult, though; all of the gifts she was viewing were all so beautiful, she couldn't decide which one to unwrap first. Then there was a knock at the door. Martha and both of her parents turned their heads in the direction of the front door, curious as to who would be knocking.

"I wonder who that could be." Mortimer thought aloud as he got up and went to the door.

Felicity shrugged, picked up a box wrapped in bright red paper, and gave it to her daughter. "How about you open this one first?"

"Okay." Martha said as she took the gift.

Mortimer quickly came back, only he was holding a rather strange looking package. It was messily wrapped in silver paper and a gold ribbon tied around it in a big lopsided bow; there was also a small tag hanging off of it.

"What's that, dear?" Felicity asked.

"I don't know." Mortimer said, setting the package down in front of Martha. "But… it's for you, Martha sweetie."

"Me?" Martha picked up the gift and inspected it curiously, wondering what it could possibly be. She read the tag; her name was written there, but she couldn't quite recognize the handwriting. "Hmmm, I wonder what it is."

"Well, why don't you open it and find out?" Mortimer inquired.

Martha smiled and carefully unwrapped the gift, only to gasp in surprise. Underneath the uneven and rather sloppy wrapping was a Christmas angel tree topper, only it appeared to be made from various pieces of metal, along with a quite a few jewels and bits of glass melded together. Martha stared at the angel with wide eyes, unsure of what to say or do. Mortimer and Felicity each cocked an eyebrow.

"What… in the world is it?" Felicity asked.

"I have no idea." Mortimer answered.

"It looks like a tree topper." Martha said as she held the gift in her hands.

"But who made it?" Felicity questioned.

"Maybe one of your new friends? Tina? Or Donna?" Mortimer suggested.

"Hmm, maybe…" Martha said, but she already knew it wasn't Tina or Donna who made her this angel. She gently set it down on the coffee table before grabbing the red present that was placed in her lap earlier and opening it.

Martha was almost overwhelmed; she received some new dolls, a few cute dresses, a couple pairs of shoes, a beautiful new dollhouse, and lots of holiday sweets. After opening all of her presents and having a delicious breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon, Martha quickly set to work. She grabbed a big whicker basket, some construction paper, a pair of safety scissors, glue, glitter, markers, crayons, string, beads, and ribbon and set to work. She snipped, colored, glued, glittered, and strung for a long time. At one point after her crafting, she asked her mother to help her make some special Christmas cookies.

"What for?" Felicity asked.

"Just a little something you and I can do together today. Plus, they're for a friend." Martha replied with an innocent smile.

Felicity smiled and nodded before she and her daughter headed into the kitchen. Together, they made all different kinds of cookies including sugar, shortbread, chocolate chip, and especially gingerbread. By the time they were finished, they made well over three dozen cookies in total. Martha grinned.

"These are perfect! Thanks, mom." She said.

"You're welcome, sweetie." Felicity said as her daughter grabbed a tin and gently put most of the cookies into it. "And are you taking them somewhere?"

"Just to my friends and a couple people in town, as a way to say goodbye." Martha said, closing the tin and walking out of the kitchen with a couple packets of hot cocoa mix; she put the tin and packets into her basket along with a video tape.

"How sweet. But be sure to be back here by 7:00, it'll be suppertime by then. And Auntie Azalea will be here."

"Don't worry, I'll be back by then. I promise."

"Good. And be careful."

"You always say that."

Martha quickly put on her winter clothes, grabbed her sled and basket, and headed out the door with the full basket of goodies in tow. She rode her sled through the entirety Whoville, giving a cookie to Tina, Donna, Mr. Welltether, and even Mr. Bricklebaum, but now there was one more stop left to go… the Grinch's cave up on Mt. Crumpit. She knew it would be a long trek, but she felt she was up for it. Taking a deep breath, Martha started to climb up the mountain just like she did on her first day in Whoville.

After what felt like hours of climbing, she finally made it. She could hardly believe it; in the side of the mountain, there was a door. So she knocked on it.

"Mr. Grinch?" Martha called out, but there was no answer. She knocked again, this time a bit louder. "Mr. Grinch! Hello?" There was still no answer.

Martha was starting to get rather annoyed before she realized that the Grinch probably wasn't even home. She thought about going inside, but then she remembered the sleepover incident. Plus, she knew it was wrong to go into someone else's house without permission. So, she took out an extra sheet of paper, wrote a note, and left the basket on the doorstep. She checked her watch and gasped. It was almost 6:00 pm and she had to get home fast, so she hopped onto her sled and rode down the mountain; only this time, she had full control of her sled.

"I hope he likes it." She said to herself as she went down.

The moment Martha left however, Max the dog answered the door. He immediately noticed the basket and sniffed it curiously before grabbing a hold of it with his mouth and dragging it into the cave and closing the door. He brought it onto the counter in a kitchen-like area, pushed it into a little dumbwaiter, and hoisted it up to where the Grinch's bedroom was supposed to be. Max climbed out of the dumbwaiter and pushed the basket closer to the bed. The Grinch was lying in bed, sneezing and coughing and feeling absolutely miserable. He caught a bad cold earlier and he had to stay inside for the rest of the day.

"Ugh, Max? Is that you?" He asked, blowing his nose. He noticed the basket and cocked his head to the side in confusion. "What's this?"

With all of the strength he could manage, the Grinch took a hold the basket handle and hoisted it up onto his bed before sitting up as best he could. He looked at the tag tied to it and saw his name on it.

"For _me_? Max, what's going on? Did _you_ have something to do with this?" Grinch asked; Max shook his head in response.

Shrugging his shoulders, the Grinch decided to go through this mysterious basket and see what was in it. Inside were all kinds of different things; there were a couple makeshift cards, some homemade ornaments, packets of hot cocoa, some holiday candies from Martha's stocking, and the tin of Christmas cookies she and her mother baked. There was even a brand new collar for Max, which the Grinch quickly put around the puppy's neck. Max barked happily.

"I guess it's a little big for you, but I'm sure you'll grow into it." Grinch said before looking through the basket again.

But at the very bottom of the basket was a video tape, a note, and a small novelty picture frame. He stared at them curiously, wondering who would do this. He decided to look at the note first.

It read: " _Dear, Mr. Grinch,_

 _Hello. I'm very sorry for bothering you, I just wanted to say 'thank you' for the angel you made me and for everything else you did for me. I also wanted to stop by and give you a little something before I leave for Who York tomorrow. I met Santa Claus last night and asked him if he could do something special for you, but he told me you were on his Naughty List and that he couldn't give you a gift. I was sad to hear that, but then I decided that if_ he _couldn't give you a gift,_ I _could. So I decided to do this. You did so many things for me while I was here and I wanted to do something special for you in return. After all, it's only fair. I hope you like the care package. I also hope you get a chance to watch the tape I made for you. Goodbye and merry Christmas._

 _Love always, Martha May_ "

The Grinch slowly set the paper down and looked at the tape. Martha made him a video? What kind of video did she make? What was on it? And why would she go through all of this trouble? He looked at Max, hoping for some kind of answer. Max didn't have any, though. The Grinch rolled his eyes and smirked before letting out another loud sneeze.

"Ugh, I _hate_ being sick. Oh well, it could be worse." He groaned, grabbing a tissue and blowing his nose. Then his tummy growled; he cringed. "And I guess being hungry doesn't make it any better." He gently tossed one of the hot cocoa packets over to Max. "Max? Could you be a pal and go downstairs and make me some cocoa? It would be a real big help."

The puppy barked and picked up the packet with his mouth before heading back down the dumbwaiter. "Good boy." The Grinch smirked and chuckled as he opened the cookie tin, licking his lips and rubbing his hands together. "Looks like I'll be having dessert _before_ dinner tonight."

He was just about to grab a big chocolate chip cookie when he took a glance at the photograph sitting on the nightstand to his left. It was the photo of himself and Martha at the pageant the night before. Grinch picked it up and looked at it; he then picked up the picture frame and reluctantly slipped the photo into it. He smiled and set it back on his nightstand.

"Merry Christmas, Martha May." He said, munching on the cookie.


	13. Goodbye

"Mr. Grinch?!" Bricklebaum said in shock. The Grinch was standing in the doorway with a video tape in his hand; Max was standing beside him.

"Hi, Bricklebaum." Grinch said uneasily. "Can I… borrow your TV real quick?" He held up the tape. "I kinda need to watch this video. It's… a gift from Martha."

"Martha May? Oh, sure thing. Come on in, Grinchy. And you can bring Max in with ya. Television's right over here."

"Thanks."

The Grinch went in, walked over to the TV, inserted the tap into the VCR, turned the television on, hit play, sat back, and waited patiently. Max sat beside him while Bricklebaum stood in the hallway, wondering what was going on.

"What's on this tape, Grinchy?" He asked.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Grinch replied before the TV sparked to life. "Oh, it's starting. Be quiet."

"Oh hey, I just remembered I just made some cocoa. You want som—"

"Shut up! I need to see this."

The television suddenly showed an image of Martha May's dark bedroom; there weren't any light on but the window curtains were opened. Martha was adjusting the camera and when she got it straight, she sat near the window.

"Get it in focus, okay. Got it!" She shyly waved at the camera. "Hi, Mr. Grinch. It's Martha May, though I guess you kind of already knew that." She said before giggling nervously. "Sorry, I'm getting a little stage fright." The Grinch chuckled in slight amusement before Martha cleared her throat and turned back to the camera with a serious look on her face. She softly sighed as he went quiet. "I'm sorry; I need to be serious for this. Mr. Grinch, by the time you're watching this, I'll probably be long gone. I know you hate Christmas and people see you as a monster because you want them to, but… but I just want you to know that I know you're not a monster, no matter what people say. I'm probably the last person you want to see right now, but please hear me out. Ever since we met, you and I have done so much together; you even helped me create some of the best and happiest memories I'll probably ever have in my entire life. Not just that… you're probably the best friend I've ever had. And it all happened…" She picked up the camera and pointed it out the window. "…right here, in this beautiful town. Isn't it remarkable? This place is full of so many possibilities. Each and every Who living here has an entirely unique experience. The sights they see, the sounds they hear, the things they do. The lives they live are so complicated… a-and so simple, all at the same time. I honestly couldn't ask for a better place to spend my Christmas and I sincerely hope to come back someday. And I thank you, for being my friend."

Martha then turned the video camera around to face her again. "And believe me when I say when you and I first met that night, I was more terrified of you than anything else. But then, you came to my rescue… and my entire view of you changed. I started to believe that you weren't a monster at all, just misunderstood. I asked myself tons of questions with no answers for, second guessing everything I knew. You may have done some bad things, but we all make mistakes. Sure, sometimes I did feel a little uneasy around you in the beginning, but then… I started to warm up to you and you started to treat me like a friend. Not just towards me, but towards Tina and Donna as well. As the days went by, I felt more and more comfortable and safe around you. But I need you to know that when I do leave for Who York, I will miss you. I'll miss seeing you every day, I'll miss hearing your voice and feeling your touch. I'll miss spending time with you. And you've proved to me that you're not all bad, especially after saving me and helping me all those times. Now that I've met you, I… I don't think I can ever imagine a life without you. But maybe, just maybe, in the future… you and I _will_ meet again, Mr. Grinch. So, thank you for everything. This is for you." She pulled the camera closer to her and smiled a sad little smile. It was then that she began to sing.

" _Where are you, Christmas?_

 _Why can't I find you?_

 _Why have you gone away?_

 _My world is changing_

 _I'm rearranging_

 _Does that means Christmas changes too?_

 _Where are you Christmas_

 _Do you remember?_

 _The girl you used to know_

 _You and I were so carefree_

 _Now nothing's easy_

 _Did Christmas change?_

 _Or just me…_ "

Martha sighed. "…Goodbye and merry Christmas."

She turned off the camera and the screen went to static before it went black. The Grinch stared at the TV screen with wide eyes in absolute shock; he had no idea what to say about any of this. Was any of it real, or was it all rehearsed? He couldn't tell anymore; he sat in silence for a minute or two. Reluctantly, he reached out and ejected the tape from the VCR. He looked at the video in his hand and felt like crying.

"Wow, that was… really something." Bricklebaum said.

The Grinch stood up with the tape still in hand; he headed towards the door. "I'll see you around, Bricklebaum."

"Okay. I guess I'll see ya later, Grinchy." Bricklebaum said before the Grinch and his dog headed out the door without saying another word.

As the Grinch and Max sat in front of the burning fireplace that evening, Grinch couldn't help but think about Martha and everything she said in the tape. Would that little girl really miss him? Or was it just a hoax? He looked at the framed photo of him and Martha; she looked so happy to be with him. He closed his eyes and hung his head with a sigh.

"No, it is better this way…" Max went up to his master and out his head on his knee. Grinch reached out and gently scratched the puppy's head. "I know, Max… I miss her, too."


End file.
